Leap of Faith
by rainbowspring
Summary: When a friend from the past thought to be dead stumbles upon the Phantomhive estate one day along with her two timetraveling sisters, only one thing is for certain: The entire season 1 will never be the same. Finnyxoc, Sebastianxoc, and CielxLizzy.
1. Words are not needed

**Warning: The following fanfic contains randomness. You have been warned. Anyway, hey guys, so this is my second fanfic and my first Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji/whatever you want to call it fanfic! Also, I do not know who said the quote I used in this chapter, I just remember reading it somewhere and thought it was really cool so I used it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or the quote I used in this chapter. Or Jane Eyre.**

Chapter 1: Words are not needed among the Rosemary

"Love is a leap of faith."

This saying couldn't relate more to the characters in this story, and little did they know there leap of faith was about to begin…

Time travel: that was the cause of all this. The mysterious organization known as The Agency worked around England in secret, unknown to the public. Well, the _general_ public that is. The Queen of England had recently become aware of this herself, as did her watch dog, Ciel Phantomhive. In fact, the Queen had ordered Ciel to meet some members of the organization and perhaps strike up a business deal with them. The reason for this was simple; with the assistance of The Agency, controlling London's underground might become easier. In fact, The Agency was already trying to help all of England, and therefore could be very useful. And so it was Ciel found himself one morning flipping through some papers at his desk about The Agency.

"You're tea, my young lord," Sebastian said as he laid a cup and saucer in front of Ciel. "On today's schedule, young master, you are to meet with those members of The Agency at promptly 3:00 P.M. sharp. Tea and cake shall be served."

"Very well," Ciel sighed, shuffling his papers. "That will be all. You may go now."

"Yes, my lord," Sebastian replied and left the room.

Thyme Rosemary stared at the sky that lay before her. _Where are you?_ She thought as her paintbrush dipped in water and she proceeded to create a new shade of strawberry blonde for her painting. _I need you._ The words kept echoing in her mind as she created a beautiful shade of blue and green whirlpools for eyes. As she finished painting the porcelain like skin on her canvas she whispered, "I will see you again. Although whether it is in this life or the next I cannot say." Adrenaline rushed through her body and a little, almost miniscule voice seemed to whisper, _Today's going to be a very important day._

Finnian was out in the garden, weeding the roses just like he usually did each morning. _Today's going to be a very important day._ He nearly jumped. Where had those words come from? He shrugged it off. "Well, whatever!" He said cheerfully, a smile plastered onto his face. "Time to do my chores, and today I will get them done RIGHT!" And with determination in his eyes, the strawberry blond- haired gardener went back to work.

_BANG!_ This was the sound that Rosalind Rosemary heard as she put down the book she had been reading and sighed. _Thyme,_ Rosalind thought to herself as she smoothed down her skirts and stood up. A tall young woman with long brown hair and brown eyes, Rosalind adored books. She would always make sure to read every day, and treated books as if they were her own children. She read so often that she had even acquired nicknames from various people, such as "The Bookworm" or the "Walking Encyclopedia". However, regardless of what people thought about her obsession, or whether or not it was approved of in society for a woman to read so much, Rosalind continued to be the crazed book fanatic that she was.

At the moment, Rosalind had been reading one of her favorite novels for the umpteenth time, _Jane Eyre._ However, for now she would have to leave the fascinating world of Mr. Rochester, and Jane Eyre herself, the poor and plain but intelligent and kind hearted governess of Thornfield Hall. After memorizing what page she was on- a trick Rosalind had taught herself to do since she was little- Rosalind got up and went to Thyme's room. Thyme had always been a clumsy creature by nature, but seemed to have only gotten more accident prone as she got older, especially these days. Wondering what the disaster could be this time, Rosalind stepped into the room.

Thyme had fallen face first with a sketchbook in hand on her unmade bed and a chair had been knocked over in the process.

"Thyme, that's the second time you have caused harm to an innocent inanimate object in just as many hours. " Rosalind informed her younger sister as she went over to make sure she was okay. "Why must you treat them this way? They haven't done anything to you."

"'T wasn't me," Thyme gasped, offended at being accused of such a thing." How could you possibly think that? I admit to nothing; it was like that when I got here. It must have been a wrack spurt trying to frame me! They must have left one of their traps lying around, making me fall on the bed as I came through the window; you know how they always love to frame me for stuff I didn't do-"

"Hold it!" Rosalind stopped her slightly unhinged sister's rant abruptly. "Rewind a bit; what did you say about coming through the window? Thyme, you've been on the roof again, haven't you?"

Thyme gulped, silently cursing herself for her little slip up. "I'm in trouble now, aren't I?"

"A world of it," Rosalind replied. "Thyme, you know I don't like you on the roof; it's dangerous to be up there! What would happen if you were to fall off? You could be seriously injured!"

"Uh, Rosalind, "Thyme interrupted, knowing Rosalind could go on for hours if she didn't cut her off now. " Super strength here, remember? If I fall it's unlikely I would break any bones because I'm so strong."

"Those doctors at the lab may have given you super strength," Rosalind's voice went quiet, but Thyme could hear every word that she was saying. "But they did not give you super healing, while you may not break any bones if you fell off, you could still cut or scrape yourself. I do not want to see you get hurt." As brown eyes bore into blue, it became clear to both girls that Rosalind was talking about something more than mere physical pain.

"I won't," Thyme assured Rosalind." Don't worry about me so much. I can take care of myself."

Right at that moment a paper lying around Thyme's room suddenly flew around the room, due to a sudden breeze coming in through the open window, and hit Thyme in the eyes.

"WAAH!" Thyme cried out, flailing her arms around frantically. "DANGER, DANGER, CAN'T SEE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I'VE BEEN HIT! I'VE BEEN HIT! GOODBYE CRUEL WORL-"

Right at that moment Rosalind lifted the paper off of Thyme, who had not lost any of her eyesight neither had she died. Thyme, upon noticing this declared," I'm okay." before collapsing back onto her bed. Personally this did nothing to reassure Rosalind about her sister's mental well being.

Rosalind rubbed her temples; she could feel a headache coming on already. With admirable patience- or perhaps maybe just sheer exhaustion prevented her from yelling – Rosalind turned to her sister and said," Look, let's just agree that you should not go on the roof and no more will be said on that subject. Okay?"

"Okay." Thyme said although both girls knew full well that Thyme would probably do it again anyway. Neither one pointed this out however, being as they both knew the other knew already without having to say anything. Rosalind ordinarily would have dropped the subject at that, but felt compelled to ask a question she had been wondering about for a while now.

"What were you doing up on the roof anyway?" Thyme grinned and showed Rosalind a piece of paper from her sketchbook.

Rosalind's eyes scanned the painting, taking notice of all the color and artwork. "Oh," Rosalind breathed. "So this is…"

"Yeah," Thyme's ordinarily loud projecting voice had gone eerily quiet, and while there were times when Rosalind wished for some peace and quiet coming from Thyme, that one perfectly normal word seemed strange coming out of Thyme's mouth. For once Rosalind was the one to break the silence that followed.

"Your artwork has this boy in it a lot, right Thyme." It was an observation, not a question. Thyme responded with a nod, though there was a distant look in her eyes indicating that although her body was in the room her mind and soul had traveled elsewhere.

"Wow, this is really amazing Thyme!" Rosalind's irritation at Thyme had subsided as soon as she saw the painting. Rosalind was not a very skilled artist but had tremendous respect and appreciation for talent in the arts.

"Your artwork has improved so much over the past years! I swear, out of all the times you've drew this boy this is my favorite! He looks so realistic I half expect to see a person instead of a painting! You are so talented; I've never been able to draw or paint like this…."

"You are far too modest Rosalind," Thyme teased playfully. "Your portrait of us at Christmas was so informative! Why, I never realized that I was a man, that Batty had an afro, or that you were a unicorn until after viewing your work! I shall remember it forever…"

Rosalind scowled and threw a pillow at a laughing Thyme. "Oh, be quiet." She snapped.

"Okay, Okay," Thyme apologized once her laughing fit subsided. "I was just kidding; but seriously, I will always treasure that whenever I need a good laugh. Thank you."

Rosalind had no idea whether she should take that as a compliment or an insult, but it seemed as though Thyme intended that as a compliment and an apology. However one thing she was sure of; even though Thyme had broken one of her rules and judging by the state of the room had evidently forgot to do her chores, she was happy to see her sister working on her art. Thyme always seemed to be laughing or crying, or shouting or screaming about something, but when she was working on her artwork, she was transformed into a totally different person. The usually emotional and hyperactive girl was suddenly quiet, calm, peaceful, and for once seemed to be at ease with the world.

Everything was not at ease at the Phantomhive manor. Bard had nearly blown up the kitchen when he had been "cooking" (Sebastian had wound up doing all the actual cooking after that out of concern for the house remaining in one piece), Meirin had broken nearly all the plates in the house again, and her clumsiness had resulted with her falling in Sebastian's arms he was starting to wonder if it was all on purpose. Meanwhile Tanaka happily drank tea as he watched the scene unfold. However, the most troublesome servant in Sebastian's mind today was Finny. Finny was prone to daydreaming sometimes and struggled but tried his best with the gardening, but today he seemed even more clumsier than usual and didn't seem to be really concentrating on his work_. Odd,_ Sebastian thought but gave more notice on the matter and went back to work.

"Batty, may I come in?" It was Rosalind's voice.

"Yes." Batty replied in a vice so soft that most people ordinarily would not have heard her, but Rosalind knew Batty well enough to understand she could enter the room. Rosalind opened the door and found a little girl sitting on the floor of her room playing with dolls. The girl was very young- no more than 4 or 5 years old- and had golden blonde curls that glistened in the sunlight and had blue eyes. Batty Rosemary; Rosalind and Thyme's little sister.

"Hey Batty, just so you know we're going to have to leave soon to go to meet with Earl Phantomhive. Okay?" Rosalind made sure her tone was gentle with Batty; she knew how easily nervous and scared Batty could be sometimes and also knew how shy she was around strangers. The idea of leaving home for a couple of hours, visiting a stranger's house, and meeting new people probably had her scared stiff. And sure enough, Rosalind's suspicions proved to be correct.

"How are you feeling?" Rosalind asked delicately.

"I'm nervous," Batty confessed. "What if they don't like me? What if I mess up? What if they're mean? I'm scared." Batty would never have dreamt of telling these secret worries to anyone else. Most people Batty knew would have just laughed or told her she was being dumb, but Rosalind was different; Rosalind listened.

"Batty, you'll be fine. Just be yourself. You won't mess up and even if you do that's okay. And if they do anything at all that upsets you, they will regret it for the rest of their lives… if they live, that is."

The Phantomhive servants assembled themselves in front of the front door, ready to greet their guests. Finny found it unusually hard to stand still, and felt jittery all over. _Probably nothing,_ he thought to himself but wasn't so sure.

"What in the name of sanity are you two wearing?" Rosalind had left her sisters for merely one moment by the door of their house to go get something she had forgotten inside and when she emerged she found them each wearing two red caps with gold string on them.

"This, my young grasshopper," Thyme explained to Rosalind, attempting to look very wise. "Is called a fez. "

"I know what it's called," Rosalind interjected," I was just wondering where you got it and why you two are wearing it."

"Oh, I just went back in the time stream to get it because they are so epically AWESOME!"

"Did you pay for them?" Rosalind asked part of her scared to know the answer.

"Please," Thyme said indignantly. "Of course I paid for them! I didn't just steal them! What do you take me for, a criminal? No, wait- don't answer that. Anyway, aren't the fezzes so cool? Fezzes rock!"

"Okay, they are cool," Rosalind conceded. "But you guys can't wear them out of the house. It would be messing with the space time continuum or something like that."

"You brought back a computer and a TV from the future! We're living in Victorian England, and we have a computer and television? What is up with THAT?" Thyme pointed out.

"Yeah, but we don't let anyone else besides us see it." Rosalind explained, then turning to Batty who was wearing the fez whispered," I'll give you twice as much as whatever she's bribing you with if you back me up here."

"Okay that will be two fezzes, please!"

The rest of their journey was uneventful, apart from Rosalind convincing her sister not to wear the fez and Thyme running over to pet a bunny and then chasing it when it ran away. The girls lived in a house in the woods near the Phantomhive estate so they simply walked there. As they came into the clearing in front of the estate, Thyme suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

_No way,_ it couldn't be… but it _was._ Thyme broke into a run, her sisters called after her but she didn't hear them. Feelings took over thought; all reason was lost and had no effect. Everything mattered, nothing mattered. Nothing that is, except for _him._ Every emotion she had ever felt inside her piled up until she would explode and yet at the same time she felt perfectly emotionless.

Thyme's vision became blurred and she felt as though she was in two places at once, even though she physically wasn't. Her legs and feet took on a mind of her own, moving without her realizing it. She would not lose him this time; she swore on her life.

Finny froze as he saw a familiar figure running towards him. "Thyme Rosemary." The words left his mouth before he could stop them. Eyes widened, he stood there paralyzed for a moment before running towards her. Thyme and Finny embraced, reunited at last.

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	2. You do not need a weapon

**Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, added to favorites, or subscribed to an alert for this story! *hands out chocolate fudge.* Now on to the randomness- er, I mean story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler**

Chapter 2: You do not need a weapon… well, actually, maybe you do

Ciel stepped outside of the manor accompanied by Sebastian, ready to greet his guest. He saw an unexpected sight upon his arrival: His gardener was hugging some girl with scraggly, waist length, strawberry blonde hair. Few things could surprise Ciel and Sebastian, but the two were now shocked, to say the least. Finny had never embraced any of Ciel's visitors before, to do so would have been considered by society as impolite and improper. So why on earth was he doing this now? Was he trying to soil the Phantomhive name? No, Finny would never dream of doing that. Something must be going on, but what?

Sebastian and Ciel looked around their surroundings and noticed that two other people were running up to Finny and the girl. They had not noticed them at first, due to the spectacle they had been witnessing, but upon seeing the two figures approaching Ciel doubted he would have noticed them if Finny was not hugging the girl. The first one, although tall, was plain, and the second one was a little girl who kept hiding behind the older one. Judging by the expressions on their faces they were as surprised as Sebastian and Ciel were about the current situation.

There was silence before Thyme and Finny spoke and when they did they both started speaking at once.

"Thyme where have you been all this time since you escaped?"

"I've been living with Rosalind and Batty. I thought you may have been dead! What happened to you?"

"I was able to escape from the lab and I got picked up to work here. I've been living here ever since as the gardener. Why didn't you ever come back for me?" The joyous expression on Finny's face faded a little and for a moment there was a tone of agony and desperation in his voice.

"I did come back for you! I swear to God, I did! But when I came back to the lab you weren't there! No one was, actually, it was in shambles! That's why I thought you might be dead, but I preferred the possibility of you being alive, which I'm glad to see is evidently correct unless this is all either a hallucination, a dream of mine, or I've died and we are reunited in the afterlife." Thyme stared at Finny in concern and pinched herself firmly to eliminate these possibilities. Judging by how much it hurt, Thyme concluded that if she were dreaming she would have woken up, and that if she were dead she wouldn't have felt it. As for the possibility of hallucinations, well that was still a possibility, and she _had_ been accused of insanity numerous times before. But even if this really wasn't real, Thyme thought, she didn't care so long as she got to see Finny again. Anyway, could she feel so many emotions if this weren't real?

"Would someone kindly explain to me what is going on?" Ciel demanded.

"Ah, you must be Lord Phantomhive, pleased to meet you." The woman Ciel had dubbed as plain and tall was speaking now." My name is Rosalind Rosemary, that girl hugging your gardener is Thyme Rosemary, and this one is- oh, where did she go?"Rosalind looked around her. Batty had been just with them a moment ago, but it seemed that she had wandered elsewhere. Rosalind spotted her hiding behind one of the rosebushes. Rosalind went over to get her and introduced her." And this one is Batty Rosemary."

"Batty?" Ciel repeated. "What kind of name is that?"

"Well, actually it's just her nickname. Her full name is Bathilda Elizabeth Jane Ethel Lucile Cordelia Francine Cornelia Rosemary, but in an effort to save time we call her Batty. Thyme came up with that, by the way."

"Sure did!" Thyme called out before she started to shake. Batty too was trembling uncontrollably.

"Why did you have to say my full name Rosalind?" Batty begged. "Why?"

"Oh, sorry," Rosalind apologized sincerely. "I forgot how scary your entire name is. I won't ever say it in front of you again."

"Pinky swear?" Batty asked, holding out her pinky.

"Promise." Rosalind promised, holding out her pinky and wrapping it around her sister's finger.

"Anyway, back to the topic beforehand, we are the people from The Agency you wished to see." Rosalind concluded.

"I see." Ciel mused. "Very well then, Finny, come inside for a moment. I shall be with you three shortly."

Finny broke away from Thyme and followed Ciel accompanied by Sebastian inside. Sebastian closed the door behind them.

"All right Finny," Ciel ordered. "Explain."

"Explain what, young master?" Finny asked, confused.

"That girl, Finny!" Ciel exclaimed, exasperated. "Who is she? How do you know her?"

"Oh, she was my best friend from back when I was being tested on in the lab."Finny's cheerful demeanor suddenly vanished as he finished that sentence. Although his body was with Sebastian and Ciel his mind and soul were in another world. His eyes grew wide in size and his voice sounded far away.

"You see, Thyme's uncle was the one in charge of all the experiments." Ciel and Sebastian could not help let an expression of mild surprise pass across their features; they had certainly not expected that.

"She had moved in with her aunt and uncle, while Batty was just a baby when this happened and Rosalind was away at finishing school. I include these details because I have a feeling that from what Thyme has told me that if her sisters knew in advance how Thyme was to be treated they never would have let it happen. Although Thyme was their kin, she was treated no differently than she would have if she weren't.

Soon after she had moved in they locked her up and started experimenting on her just like the rest of us. Despite being a relation of theirs, she received no special treatment. However, Thyme's nature was much different than our captors. Unlike them, Thyme was kind. We soon became friends. Thyme was different from the rest of us in one aspect though; unlike everyone else she had not spent most of her life here. She had lived in the outside world and had more experience there. Thyme always kept trying to cheer me up despite our situation. She taught me how to read and write and we made up our own language together. She told me stories about the outside world and filled my mind with pleasant things.

At first she seemed convinced that somehow somewhere people would find out sooner or later. _You can't keep this up forever;_ she told them,_ it is inevitable that people will find out._

I do not know whether or not she ever stopped believing this, but after a while one thing became clear. Regardless of whether or not her belief in this was shaking, Thyme no longer wanted to wait for somebody else to rescue her. She wanted to rescue herself. She kept trying to escape from the lab. Sometimes she would try to free everyone, other times she tried to free only her and me but planned on coming back for the others later.

She made numerous attempts to escape, and sometimes came very close, but never succeeded. We'd always get caught. But against all odds she never stopped trying though. No matter how badly she was treated or how badly she was punished she still kept trying to make a bid for freedom. That's not to say she wasn't affected or anything. No one could stay at that place and not be affect in some way, whether physically or mentally. There were times when she could do nothing but cry for days or just curl up into a ball on the floor and not say or do anything.

But she always lifted herself off the floor and would try again. In fact, it seemed; like the worse she was treated the more determined she was to be free. Maybe because she hadn't been there as long as the rest of us it was harder for them to break her spirit.

Then one day she did escape. One morning I woke up and she was gone. I found a note from her written in code explaining that Rosalind had somehow found out about where she was and came to take her away. Thyme promised in the note that she would come back for me but when she did I was already gone. Part of me believed she might be dead until now." Finny finally finished, leaving Ciel and Sebastian stunned in silence. Ciel looked out the window and saw Thyme trip over _her own two feet_. It was hard to believe that the girl from the story was the same girl he saw from outside the window. But Ciel supposed it must be the same person being as Finny had no reason to lie.

Meanwhile, while Finny finished talking to Ciel and Sebastian, Thyme, Rosalind, and Batty were all still outside accompanied by Bard, Meirin, and Tanaka, who for once was in his tall form. All of a sudden Tanaka had one of his fits where he shrunk and was only able to say,"Ho, ho."

Batty, Rosalind, and Thyme did not expect this, but Thyme's reaction was the greatest out of all of them by far.

"OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO COOL!" Thyme shouted and hugged Tanaka, who just went,"ho, ho."

"You're so CUUUUUUUTTTTTEEEE! CAN WE KEEP HIM?"Thyme squealed, hugging him even more.

"Thyme, you can't own another human being!"Rosalind explained wearily. "He is a free individual, he is not owned by anybody! Furthermore…" While Rosalind and Thyme were busy arguing, no one noticed Batty wandering away. Her sisters' behaviors were really freaking her out, and she felt nervous being on such a big, strange estate. Batty was a very shy and curious creature by nature and at the moment felt like getting away from all the craziness and what better way to do that than to explore the estate by herself?

Thyme was the first one to notice that Batty was gone. "Hey, where's Batty?" Rosalind spun around on the spot, eyes searching frantically for Batty. She was gone.

"Excuse me," Rosalind asked Bard and Meirin. "Did either of you two see a little girl around this tall-"(Here Rosalind mimed a height using her hands.)-"with curly blonde hair and blue eyes go anywhere?"

Meirin looked around nervously. She had not noticed that Batty had left. "Oh no, we lost one of the young master's guests, yes we did! Oh, he's going to be so angry with us, yes he is!" She exclaimed to Bard. Ordinarily Bard would have told Meirin to calm down, but then a thought occurred to him. The Phantomhive mansion had tons of weapons lying around all over the place, what if Batty accidentally found one of the guns? God forbid she found the kitchen….

"Oh my God." Bard breathed.

"Wait a minute!" Thyme called to order and everybody looked at her. "There is still one person among us whom we did not ask. Maybe he will know where she is." Then turning to Tanaka said," Okay, oh holy wise wittle ole man, do you know where my sister is?"

"Ho, ho." Was Tanaka's response. Everyone else looked disappointed but that was good enough for Thyme.

"She's inside!" Thyme declared." To the mansion! Let's go you adorable little old man you!" She added to Tanaka, dragging him inside.

"He just said, 'ho, ho,'!" Rosalind shouted after her. "How the heck do you know what he's saying?"

"I speak wittle ole man!" Was Thyme's reply.

Ciel, Finny, and Sebastian suddenly heard a bang as the front door open and people came running in at once.

"What on Earth is going on?" Ciel demanded of them.

"We appear to have lost my sister. "Rosalind panted, clutching her side. Unlike her exhausted sister, Thyme was still bursting with energy. "Where to now, my Your Awesomeness?" Thyme asked Tanaka and bowed.

"Ho, ho."

"To the kitchen!" Thyme declared and ran off.

Tanaka led the way to the kitchen being as Thyme didn't know the way and everyone followed. Sure enough Batty was there examining one of Bard's guns in the kitchen.

"Hey, cool, I want to try!" Thyme exclaimed and ran over but Rosalind got there first and yanked the gun out of Batty's hands.

"Ah, come on Rosalind," Thyme moaned but Rosalind would not give in.

"You do not need a weapon." Rosalind stated calmly to Batty and Thyme. Then turning to Batty said, "Do not ever do that again. You could seriously injure or even kill yourself and others. Understand?" Batty nodded, unable to face Rosalind. "Sorry," she whispered quietly.

"It's okay," Rosalind muttered. "Just don't wander off like that and _never _pick up a gun again. "

Then turning to Ciel apologized. "Please excuse my sisters; I am currently studying physiology in order to understand the mystery that is their troubled noggins. Now, shall we begin our meeting?"

The Rosemary sisters and Ciel accompanied by Sebastian made their way into Ciel's office where their appointment would finally begin. There were no more incidents on the way there thankfully, although Rosalind insisted on holding Thyme and Batty's hands with an unusually firm grip lest they wander off again. Everyone sat down and Sebastian served tea. Ciel had to admit that he was surprised with his possible soon to be business associates. Firstly, there was their behavior and personalities. No more needed to be said on that. Secondly, there was the matter of their gender. Ciel had only worked with men before in terms of business, never women. For his line of work, that sort of thing was unheard of back then.

However, all prejudice and first impressions put aside for a moment, the queen had _wanted_ this, and as her guard dog it was his duty to obey her orders. Also, it was very unlikely he would be able to find many other time travelers in general, let alone ones willing to work with him. Besides, the Rosemary sisters could prove to be useful. Ciel asked questions about their line of work, most of which Rosalind answered. It appeared the other two were smart enough to let Rosalind do the talking. Rosalind also brought evidence to prove that every single thing she said was completely true so Ciel had no reason to doubt her. Then came the questions about self defense. Ciel felt this necessary to ask being as he had long ago learned that in his line of work at times there was a good chance of getting hurt, or shot.

"Are any of you trained in weaponry?" Ciel questioned.

"No." Was the unanimous response.

"Are any of you trained in martial arts or some other means of self defense?"

"No."

"Do you have any means of defending yourself at all?" Ciel sighed, exasperated.

"Yes, yes we do!" Rosalind said hotly. Ciel was taken aback; few people dared to speak to him that way, much less a woman. "Look here, just because we are women does _not_ mean we are weak, defenseless, and couldn't fight to save our lives! We are not vulnerable in any way, shape or form, and there is no need to look down upon us just because of our gender. Thyme has super strength, we all know where and how to kick a man properly, and if all else fails, I have pepper spray."

Ciel was surprised by her outburst, even Sebastian could not help but stop and listen. But Rosalind didn't care. She had loathed the condescending manor in which Ciel had spoke to her, treating her as if she were stupid and helpless when she knew she wasn't. Her outburst seemed to have the desired effect, however, being as Ciel said no more on the subject. This was a good thing too, being as when she had mentioned Thyme's super strength she had neglected to mention that Thyme knew nothing about fighting and had no hand-eye coordination whatsoever.

As they finished making the agreement of working together, Thyme whispered to Ciel," Hey Ciel, what's your butler's name again?"

"Sebastian Michaelis." Ciel replied.

"Thanks," Thyme whispered back.

"Don't worry Ciel Baby, you can count on us! Good bye Sebastian Honey! Peace out home dogs!"

And with that being said, Thyme left the room.

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	3. Oh no he didn't

**Thanks so much to everyone who has favorited, alerted, or reviewed this story! * hands out cyber cake* You guys rock! Also, this chapter takes place during episode 1, but I skip over parts of the episode. The "read between the lines" reference is from School of Rock.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler, School of Rock, Mission Impossible, or the 1812 overture.**

Chapter 3: Oh no he didn't!

Over the next couple of weeks, the Rosemary sisters visited the Phantomhive mansion on a regular basis. The purpose of this was to see if Ciel had any work for them to do, but so far the Queen had no new assignments for her guard dog. However, Ciel was under the impression that a _certain someone_, namely Thyme, had ulterior motives for coming to his mansion. Thyme came nearly every day to see Finny.

Being as she kept coming there so often, Ciel decided to have her test out toys for Funtom and give her opinions about them, which she enjoyed immensely and was very eager to do so. There were multiple reasons Ciel made this happen, one of which was he didn't feel like holding a daycare center for a girl older than he was. Another one was it dealt with business affairs, which was what they were supposed to be doing in the first place. However the main reason was really this: To prevent Thyme from coming up with any more nicknames.

Thyme seemed to have changed nearly everyone's name of those who resided in the Phantomhive estate. Ciel was now "Ciel Baby", Sebastian was now "Sebastian Honey", Tanaka was now "Tana", and Maylene was now "May." As for Finnian, he seemed to have three nicknames. First there was Finny, which everyone called him already. Then there was "Finny-kins" , and finally there was "Fin-Fin". Thyme called Bard…. Bard. The reason he was the only one who kept his real name was because of this: When he was first introduced to her, he was called Bardroy, hence Thyme coming up with Bard. No one dared tell her that that was already his name out of fear of her trying to come up with yet another nickname.

At first Ciel was so shocked he didn't do anything when Thyme called him "Ciel Baby". Sebastian would smirk that smirk of his that annoyed Ciel to no end before Thyme called Sebastian "Sebastian Honey". This wiped the smirk off his face completely. After a couple of times of this occurring, Ciel ordered Thyme, threatened Thyme, and ignored Thyme to stop, but _nothing_ seemed to work. On the bright side, at least Batty Rosemary seemed to be better behaved and had more self control then her sister did.

Part of their business deal was that while Rosalind and Thyme were working at The Agency Batty would be able to stay at Ciel's house at least until one of her sisters could take her home. Ciel understood and had agreed to this, being as Batty was too young to stay at home by herself. Batty, unlike her sisters, actually wasn't a member of The Agency yet, due to her young age, but came as part of a package deal with her sisters. However, although Batty could go home as soon as one or more of her sisters dropped by the mansion, it rarely happened right away.

While she was there, Ciel had Batty test some of the products for Funtom as well as Thyme. Batty also volunteered to help with the house work. Although Batty had been forbidden to go into the kitchen ever since the firearm incident, she did help Maylene with the cleaning and helped Finny with the gardening. She also talked to and drank tea with Tanaka. Batty seemed to follow the Phantomhive servants around everywhere, even when Thyme or Rosalind was around. Although they were eccentric, Batty decided, and she had felt shy and nervous around them at first, Batty liked the servants of the Phantomhive estate; they were kind.

Batty liked Finny in particular, and he liked her too. Though Finny did not have experience with many, Finny liked children and he had an aura about him that made children like him too. Also, there was the fact that Thyme liked Finny, and Rosalind approved of him that furthered Batty's judgment. Actually, Batty was secretly formulating a plan in her head that would hopefully result in Finny being her future brother in law someday. But more on that later.

Rosalind's visits tended to be briefer than her sisters', but she still visited quite often. Fortunately Rosalind seemed to be able to control her sisters as well as you could expect was humanly possible, but there was still something about Rosalind that made Sebastian feel the need to keep an eye on her just as much as her sisters. It was not that Rosalind was rude or unkind to Sebastian, if anything, she was kinder and more polite than most of the young master's guests generally were to him, but it was simply the way she looked at him.

Most of Ciel's associates paid little or no attention to him at all, but Rosalind seemed to look at him quite often. Now, many women were naturally attracted to Sebastian due to his demonic charms, and would often stare at him with starry looks in their eyes. However, the way Rosalind looked at him did not have the same infatuated gaze. Instead, it looked observant and calculating, as though she was trying to analyze a mildly interesting piece of data. This seemed a little strange to Sebastian and he secretly wondered if she knew or suspected that he was a demon. But that was impossible. Rosalind, Sebastian knew, was completely human and unless she had made a contract with a demon at some point in the past would not know about the existence of demons. Sebastian had ruled out the possibility of her contracting with a demon in the past by there being no demon with her and if their contract had ended Rosalind would not be alive.

Whenever Rosalind was caught staring, she would give him a quick, nonchalant smile and look back at her book. Anyone else other than Sebastian would have believed this gesture innocent and shrug it off, but Sebastian was certain that she was up to something in her mind. He had to give her credit though; no one else seemed to be noticing these little exchanges, which was probably what she wanted. Her actions after observing him seemed innocent enough too; the smile was friendly but not overly friendly, she looked away quickly but not too quickly, and would return to her book.

That was another thing about Rosalind; she always seemed to be reading _something_. From poetry to philosophy, fiction to nonfiction, math to science, or history to labels on containers, that girl always seemed to be reading anything and everything. Sometimes she would even take notes on what she was reading and analyze them, as though she were searching for hidden meaning. Still, clever, plain, bookish, and outspoken as she was- qualities that were often looked down on for a woman to possess- she did not seem to pose as an immediate threat to the Young Master so Sebastian paid her little mind apart from the occasional staring.

On this morning, however, the Rosemary sisters would only stop by briefly for Thyme and Batty to try out a new board game for Funtom and afterwards not come back to the mansion for the rest of the day. The reason for this was because the girls would be attending a rally Rosalind had organized at a local textile mill. Rosalind had been working on a project to improve working conditions at the mill for months. She had signed petitions, wrote letters to newspapers and factory owners, and had advertized for the rally. The workers had decided to go on strike and Rosalind had held the rally to support them. Rosalind would tell anyone who would listen- including people who would not- all about the conditions at the mills.

"Our first goal is to make the working conditions actually safe and possible for people to work there, otherwise our other goals will be pointless if there aren't even any workers due to the wretched conditions there! I have been to the mills and the conditions there are positively horrendous! It is absolutely terrible and we have to do something about it! This has been going on since the Industrial Revolution and although some of the trends from the past are gradually fading away, it has been going on far enough by now. _Children_ are being forced to work in theses horrid conditions instead of going to school, where they belong. Every child, regardless of race, social class, or gender, deserves an education in my opinion. Child labor is inexcusable. Getting the children out of the mills is our second goal. "

"Our third goal is to establish equal pay among both the male and female workers. Women are being paid much less than men are for doing the exact same job. By getting rid of the child workers, there is more money left over being as the owners do not have to pay for the children's salaries. They can use this money to increase the salaries of female workers. Finally, our last goal is to establish a shorter work day, being as workers often fall asleep on the job due to not having enough time off so they can rest." Rosalind had explained this to everyone at the Phantomhive estate, which always made Ciel a bit uncomfortable.

The reason for this was because Rosalind seemed to be silently expecting Ciel to say something

on this topic or at least make a donation. However Ciel never did. It wasn't that Ciel _liked _the idea of unsafe working conditions, child labor, unfair wages, and incredibly long workdays; it was simply that he didn't particularly care one way or another as long as it didn't affect him. Although he did concede to himself that the conditions at the mills were worse than he had expected, he didn't particularly feel the need to do anything about these problems. Rosalind evidently was another story entirely. Rosalind was a member of several organizations within The Agency that fought against racism, sexism, classism, child abuse, animal cruelty, and other various prejudices.

On this particular morning Ciel was at the breakfast table, eating his breakfast. Finny, Bard, Tanaka, and Maylene stood watching him. Batty shyly opened the door and entered the room.

"Rosalind's just picking up some supplies for the rally she left at home for the rally and Thyme is already here but she says she wants to make a dramatic entrance so that's why she hasn't come in yet." Batty took a deep breath after she said this, avoiding eye contact with Ciel as she was speaking to him. Batty felt particularly shy and nervous round Ciel, being as he didn't seem as friendly as the servants did. He had a patronizing tone he used often that Batty didn't like; it made her feel small and gave her the temptation to hide behind someone or something. This was the first time she had spoken a full sentence to Ciel that wasn't about Funtom. It felt like some sort of huge milestone for her.

Ciel's response to this was a curt nod and he went back to sipping his tea. Then suddenly, out of nowhere Ciel threw a dart at Finny's head. Finny jumped up and down, kicking and screaming.

"Young Master, why did you do that?" Finny asked, wailing.

"Ciel," Batty whispered, eyes shining with tears. "How could you? You big meanie!"

It was right at that moment that the doors to the room burst open and out came Thyme.

"OH NO HE_ DIDN'T_!" Thyme angrily stormed into the room, having just seen Ciel throw the dart at Finny. Rage boiled over her. Ciel was suddenly wondering if throwing darts at people was such a good idea after all.

"WHY DID YOU THROW A DART AT FINNY, CIEL? ANSWER ME!" Thyme shouted. Ciel noticed that she did not say "Ciel Baby"; hopefully she never would again after this.

"I do not need to justify my actions." Ciel replied coolly.

"Yes, you do." Thyme's voice was shaking with anger now. Ciel was surprised; people did not generally contradict him.

"I don't care how high and mighty you are, or how wealthy you are, but you do NOT, you hear me, DO NOT, harm Finny. _Ever._ Understand, you teeny meanie Bo beanie?"

Thyme suddenly had an evil glint in her eyes and a menacing smile spread across her face and she stuck out her pointer, middle, and ring finger in front of Ciel's face, moving them back and forth. " _Read. Between. The. Lines."_

It was right at that moment that Rosalind stepped into the room and saw Thyme pretty much give Ciel the finger.

"_Thyme!"_ Rosalind reprimanded upon seeing her sister's current behavior. "I am so sorry Ciel! Now Thyme, please kindly explain to me why you just told Ciel to 'read between the lines'."

Thyme told the story from beginning to end, and Rosalind's attitude changed completely from how it had been earlier.

"So, don't you think my actions were justified? This is Finny Ciel threw the dart at after all."

"Well…" Rosalind seemed to be morally conflicted on this.

"Don't tell me you're agreeing with her on this!" Ciel moaned. Rosalind was saved from answering the question when Sebastian walked in to disperse the servants.

Sebastian opened his mouth to yell at that them when the 1812 overture and Mission Impossible theme song came playing out of nowhere.

Everyone instinctively looked at Thyme.

"What?" Thyme said defensively. "Why is everyone looking at me?" As the music continued however, she realized where it was coming from. "Oh," Thyme drawled in a rather bored manner. "Mission Impossible must be my ring tone. It looks like I have to take this call."

Thyme reached into her pocket and took out a cell phone. Thyme snapped it open and put it up against her ear. "Hello?"

Everyone stared at the cell phone. This was Victorian England after all, and cell phones had not been invented yet.

"Hello? I… can't… hear you! My God, this thing has bad reception when used in the 19th century." Thyme hung up the phone, placing it back in her pocket. Upon noticing everyone's stares at her, she looked back at them obliviously, as though what she had just done was perfectly normal. "Hmm, what's wrong?"

"Thyme, why do you have a cell phone?" Rosalind exclaimed stunned. "This is the 19th century, who could you possibly be calling? You can't use it to make phone calls to anyone living in this century being as it hasn't been invented yet and- Where is the 1812 overture coming from?"

This time everyone looked at Batty, who blushed and pulled out a cell phone as well.

"Not you too?" Rosalind moaned. "Why do you both need cell phones so badly?"

"Safety reasons."

"Emergencies."

"Communication."

"Educational."

This last one came from Thyme, who knew that Rosalind had a weakness for things that were considered educational.

"Well…regardless of your reasons and the epic awesomeness of your ringtones, you can't just flaunt them about like that in front of people who are non time travelers! It's most definitely messing with the space time continuum! You all saw nothing." Rosalind turned her head to everybody else in the room, clearly motioning for this never to be spoken of again.

Batty and Thyme tried out the board game Ciel asked them to. He was planning on playing it with his guest later that day.

"Whoa, Ciel, you intend for this to be a game intended for _children_! "Lose a leg," oh yeah, that won't give the kiddies nightmares at night! You are seriously messed up, Ciel Baby! Look at how the game's affected Batty!" Thyme was thoroughly appalled at this game and pointed to Batty as she said this. Batty was on the floor curled up in a ball and was trying to be calmed down by a desperate Rosalind.

"Oh, this game is intended for my guest today," Ciel had a mysterious look on his face that made Rosalind suspicious. "You two have helped me tremendously… and don't call me Ciel Baby!"

While the girls were at the rally, Ciel was having his guest, Damiono, over from his factory in East India. After dinner Ciel and his guest played their game when midway through Damiono himself to make a phone call. After his phone call he tried to find the room he had been in but could not. This was all part of Ciel's plan, Sebastian knew, and Sebastian played his part in it. He frightened the man into the oven. Well, it was the man's own fault really, Sebastian thought to himself, a smooth and sadistic smile forming on his lips. The man had tried to pull a scam over his master and had foolishly run into the oven, quite literally actually. Everything was going according to plan when-

"Excuse me, Sebastian?" Sebastian quickly stepped in front of the oven and turned to face who had interrupted him. It was Rosalind. Sebastian felt slightly relieved at this; surely Rosalind couldn't be much of a threat, could she? As long as she didn't see the oven everything would be fine.

"Oh, Miss Rosemary," Sebastian put on the cool, polite, innocent tone he used that had everybody fooled about his existence as a demon."What on Earth are you doing here at this hour of the night?"

"Please, call me Rosalind, and I came here to find a toy Batty left behind. Batty's crying in her room right now and can't sleep so I came over here to retrieve it while Thyme calms Batty down. Ah, here it is." Rosalind found said toy on the floor and put it into her bag. Sebastian nodded, as soon as Rosalind was on her way he could get back to doing his master's bidding.

"Well, thank you and good nigh-"Rosalind's words were suddenly drowned out by an agonized scream coming from the oven.

"Sebastian what on Earth was that noise? It sounds like it was coming from the oven." Rosalind ran over to the oven, but Sebastian stopped her.

"Do not worry about the noise, Miss Rosemary; I shall take care of it momentarily." The simpering eyes, the angelic smile, most people were driven wild when Sebastian used his demonic charms on them and would have done anything he wanted them to-in this case go away- but for some reason his demonic charms did not seem to be working on Rosalind at the moment. Damiono let out another howl of anguish causing Rosalind to access the situation almost instantly.

"Sebastian, there is a human in that oven, isn't there! We have to let him out!"Rosalind was just inches from the oven now, but Sebastian stepped in front of her, blocking admittance.

"I am afraid I cannot let you do that Miss Rosemary." Rosalind realized what he was getting at.

"Why not? Are you trying to kill him?"

"No, of course not." Sebastian had never met a person so meddling before in his life, which was saying something being as he was a demon and all he had been around for centuries. "Murder is too noticeable to cover up."

"Oh, so you're just going to torture him a bit, well that makes all the difference!" Rosalind spoke with a sort of hysterical sarcasm. "Look, I do not know what your reasons are for doing this or what your relationship with this man is, but I cannot allow this to happen on my watch!"

"This is really none of your business." Sebastian glared at her. Lord, she was infuriating…

"Well, it is now." What Rosalind did next completely threw Sebastian off guard.

"HYAH!" Rosalind swung her bag forward, hitting Sebastian below the belt. Sebastian was surprised, to say the least. Although Sebastian was a demon, he still had the body of a human male, and even though Rosalind wasn't very strong her bag was quite heavy so that sort of move on him could be summarized in one word: ouch.

Rosalind ran over to the oven and opened it, letting a sobbing Damiono out. "Let's get you out of here, sir." Fortunately Damiono did not appear to be burned badly due to not being in the oven for very long, and ran out of the room, although his body did hurt quite a bit. Rosalind followed suit without turning back.

By the time Sebastian recovered from shock Rosalind and Damiono had fled the room. Sebastian cursed himself for letting his guard down so easily by underestimating his opponent, although in fairness to Sebastian, he had never suspected this. Rosalind was an associate of Ciel's; he did not believe it would be proper to assault her, even if she was interfering. Also, he had not been expecting Rosalind to hit that part of him with her very heavy bag. He did learn a lesson from this however; he would need to be more careful in the future. The events of tonight also had a great impact on Rosalind as well. Rosalind had suspected that Sebastian was hiding something- anyone with eyes could see that- but she had not thought badly of him. Tonight's events, however, completely changed her opinions and suspicions about Sebastian to a whole new level ….

**Pretty Please review!**


	4. You are JUSTICE!

**Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story!* hands out cyber ice cream sundaes* Also, this chapter takes place during episode 2. Lots of the following chapters will take place over the course of the anime. The turtle quote came from my dad,btw.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler.**

Chapter 4: You… are JUSTICE!

Over the days that followed, Rosalind kept a close eye on Sebastian. Earlier, before the previous incident, she had suspected there was something… _different_ about him than most men. Not good, not bad, just… different. The way how he excelled in his duties as a butler yet never received a word of thanks or appreciation for it. The way he performed his duties so superbly seemed almost impossible for an ordinary human to carry out. But, of course he must be human, Rosalind had chided herself. For him to be otherwise would surely be impossible. Then there was the fact that his eyes were red. Crimson red, to be precise. However, peculiarities aside, Rosalind would never have suspected him of this.

He had locked a man in an _oven_ and taunted him, as though he found the man's pleas for freedom mildly amusing. Who knew how long that poor man would have been in there, if Rosalind had not let him out? And the way he had tried to convince her nothing was wrong was done so calmly, so coolly, so smoothly that this couldn't have been the first time he had done something like this. Two questions kept racing around in Rosalind's mind; who was Sebastian Michaelis truly and why did he lock that man in the oven? Rosalind also wondered if he had done that on Ciel's orders.

Rosalind had not confronted Sebastian or questioned Ciel on this matter, nor did she tell her sisters what she had seen. The reason for this was that she did not entirely know what was going on and did not want to say anything until she knew more on the matter. There may, although Rosalind doubted this, have been a very good reason for Sebastian's actions and she did not want to give her sisters a bad impression of him unless she was absolutely certain of his true nature. As for confronting Ciel and Sebastian on this, she may be asking too soon and therefore it would be easier for them to lie to her because she would not have enough evidence to decide whether or not she should believe them.

Rosalind suspected that information would present itself in due time, and became very observant of her surroundings in case there were any clues to her suspicions. Rosalind did not want her sisters to notice anything unusual with her behavior- at times they were more observant than they let on- and therefore, regardless of her opinions of him, Rosalind was still polite and civil towards him. However, unlike the pleasant politeness earlier, this new politeness seemed stiffer, more formal. Sebastian, in turn, acted as if nothing had happened that night. He was a good actor, Rosalind reluctantly admitted to herself, but they both knew what had happened, there was no denying that. Sebastian had not told Ciel about the incident for the same reasons as Rosalind. Besides he saw no purpose in Ciel knowing anyway. The only difference in Sebastian's behavior was that he kept a closer eye on Rosalind than he did before, he did not want anyone to cause trouble for his master.

"Ah, damn," Bard muttered under his breath as he inspected the chewed wires he was holding. "I knew it."

"Is it the mice again?" Maylene asked him as Finny, Thyme, Batty, and Tanaka moved in closer to see the damage as well.

"I heard there's been a really bad infestation of them in London," Bard went on. "But for them to spread all the way out here to the outskirts, it must be worse than we thought."

Right at that moment a mice scampered out in front of them. Everyone except for Batty screamed in terror. Thyme, who was not scared of mice, screamed too, just for the heck of it.

"Rat sighted!" Finny screamed, lifting up a statue nearby and throwing it across the room aiming for the mouse. He missed.

"Oops, it got away," Finny giggled, rubbing his brow sheepishly. "Tee hee".

Well that just sent Bard over the edge completely. "To Hell with your 'tee hee'!" Bard yelled. "You almost killed us, you idiot!" Bard probably would have said- or yelled- more and done more if Thyme hadn't stopped him.

"Hey don't call Finny- kins an idiot!" Thyme defended Finny. "He was only trying to help, weren't you, Fin-Fin?" Finny nodded, staring at Thyme in gratitude.

"And, anyway, Bard," Thyme lowered her voice to a whisper when she said this."Ixnae on the swearing-say in front of little sister- say."

"What?" Bard stared at Thyme, who was making no sense to him with her own version of Pig Latin. At this point Thyme just pointed to a still gasping Batty, shocked at Bard's profanity.

"Oh," Bard apologized, now realizing what she meant. "Sorry say."

"Anyway," Bard carried on as though nothing had just happened. "It's useless to challenge them head on, you've gotta use this."Bard pointed to his head.

"This?" Everyone chorused in unison, pointing to their heads.

"Use your brain's a little and read the enemy's movements." Bard instructed, using his experience from when he had been a soldier. "Just charging in isn't a fair fight; what we need is a diversion. So here's the plan…"

Bard was going to say more but Thyme interrupted him.

"I don't get what the problem is," Thyme interrupted. "I mean, they're just mice. Do we really have to kill them? They're harmless, Batty and I even keep them as pets, don't we Batty?"

"Yeah, but don't tell Rosalind that; she doesn't know." Batty agreed. Then what Thyme had said earlier suddenly sunk in. "You're going to kill them?" Batty wailed, eyes filling with tears.

Bard sweat dropped awkwardly. Even _he_ didn't want to make a little girl cry. "Uh, tell you what, how about we get the rats out of the mansion and then you can take them home and keep them as pets, okay?" Batty and Thyme nodded enthusiastically. Bard grinned."All right troops, let's move out!"

"Rather boisterous, aren't they?" These were the words of one of Ciel's guests as they played pool. Ciel had invited several other nobles over that afternoon for tea and a game of billiards, which was what they were currently doing.

"Somehow there seem to be rats here too." Among Ciel's guests were Lau and Madame Red, and this was said by Lau. "Shall we let it do as it pleases… or shall we make it swim?"

"How long do you intend for that horrid animal to scavenge for food and spread diseases?" One of Ciel's other guests asked, a short and chubby man who was currently eating a sandwich.

"Will you pass again?"Madame Red asked her nephew, Ciel.

Ciel sighed. "Pass, the ball you can't help hitting is an un-hit principle."

"Yes, he always aims for the nine ball." His aunt said with a fond sigh.

"That's good judgment," One of the men commented as he took his turn. "But when are you going to exterminate those rats?"

"Soon," Ciel replied curtly. Eventually it was his turn again and for once he decided to play.

"Careful, Lord Phantomhive," One of the guests warned. "Your greed will undo you."

Ciel smirked and aimed the ball into the hole, winning. "Am I undone?"

As most of the guests left after this, Rosalind entered the Phantomhive estate and was invited in for tea with Ciel, Lau, Ranmao, and Madame Red, accompanied by her butler Grell Sutcliffe, who seemed to have taken a liking to Sebastian.

"Grell!" Madame Red snapped at him while Sebastian served them all tea. Grell broke out of his trance."Yes mam?"

"You must learn to be more like Sebastian!" She scolded. "I mean, just look at his physique!" Upon saying this Madame Red started running her hand up and down Sebastian's back, making him flinch involuntarily. Regardless of her thoughts on him, Rosalind couldn't blame him. At that moment they were both probably thinking the same thing: _What. The. Hell, is this lady's problem?_

"Ahem," Rosalind coughed loudly getting everyone's attention. "Twelve year old boy sitting here." Rosalind motioned towards Ciel as she said this. Personally, Ciel wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or irritated.

As Ciel and Rosalind left the room, a curious sight awaited them out in the hallway. Finny, Bard, Thyme, Batty, and Maylene were running around the mansion like crazy. Finny was wearing a cat suit and they all seemed to be carrying with them either live cats or mouse traps. Rosalind turned to Thyme for an explanation. "Why is Finny wearing a cat suit, and where did those cats come from?"

"In answer to your first question," Thyme explained to Rosalind and Ciel." Isn't Finny adorable dressed like that? Come on, can you blame me for wanting to see him dressed like that? He willingly agreed to wear that and I think he really likes it. Besides, he's sooo cuuutteee and…" Thyme's voice trailed off as she stared at the object of her affection.

"Um….. Thyme?" Rosalind waved a hand in front of her sister, but Thyme was clearly off in another world, though Rosalind had to admit it was understandable why.

"Batty, where did those cats come from?" Rosalind asked Batty and Batty was about to answer when Sebastian stepped out into the hallway. He was about to reprimand the servants but stopped dead when he saw the cats. His eyes widened and a peaceful smile tugged on his lips. His arms wrapped around the cats and a happy sigh emitted from his mouth. Everyone stared at him in shock, most of all Rosalind. How could this man who had heartlessly tortured a man recently be so kind to these animals? The cats purred in pleasure as he stroked them and it was truly a sight to behold, so much so that Thyme even came out of her trance to watch.

"Whoa, looks like somebody's had a few drinks… of ginger ale." To no one's surprise it was Thyme who said this. If this didn't break Sebastian out of his trance, than the servants attempting to catch another mouse certainly did. He sprung forward at inhumanly fast speed and caught the mouse in his hands. "Stop goofing off," he glared at the servants." and get back to work!"

As the servants ran for their lives to go do their jobs or else face the wrath of an irate Sebastian, Rosalind commented," I must say Sebastian that was quite some speed at which you caught the mouse."

Their eyes met and Sebastian knew the implications behind that otherwise innocent or even complimentary statement. Meanwhile Ciel evacuated the room to the safety of his much calmer and peaceful study. Or at least, to what he _thought_ was a safe environment, unaware of what was awaiting him when he got there.

Ciel entered his room and sighed as he shut the door behind him. His servants could be so troublesome, but when they were with the Rosemary's they seemed to be even more so. He now had a lot of paperwork to do and was about to make his way over to his desk when a hand reached out and grabbed him, a gun pressed up against him. He tried to cry out, but the hand was pressed firmly against his mouth and no sound was permitted to come out as he was pulled into darkness._ Help, Sebastian._ He thought. _Help._

Sebastian knocked on Ciel's door, bringing with him a cake on a cart for Ciel's afternoon snack. "Young Master," He called." May I come in?" There was no answer. Sebastian pushed open the door and his eyes opened and his jaw dropped at the horrid sight that beheld him. "Young Master," he breathed. "You are gone. Now what shall become of your afternoon tea?"

Sebastian sighed as he wandered the hallway searching for Ciel. "Oh, now where _can_ the young master be?" He mused. His answer was met by a frantic Maylene running towards him. "Mr. Sebastian!"She hollered as she ran towards him, waving a piece of paper in her hands. "There's a letter addressed to you here, yes there is!" As she came closer to him, it was at that moment that she tripped over her shoelace, landing on top of him. It was also at that moment, Sebastian noticed, that a bullet was aimed for him, coming through the window. Glass shattered everywhere, but Maylene and Sebastian remained unharmed.

"Maylene," Sebastian said calmly," The letter, please."

Maylene blushed, got off him, and handed him the letter. Seconds later the rest of the Phantomhive servants, Ciel's guests, and the Rosemary sisters came running in.

"What happened?"

"We heard a noise."

"Are you all right?"

"Everything is quite fine, I assure you." Sebastian assured the curious guests. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some errands to attend to. Clean this up for me, will you." Here he handed the pie to Bard and Finny.

"Clean this up, he said," Bard mused. "So that means we get to eat it, right! Eh, Sebastian?" But Sebastian was gone, and so was Rosalind.

"What's going on?" Sebastian stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Rosalind.

"Pardon?" He decided it was best to feign innocence.

"You know what I mean." Rosalind evidently could see right through his act. "There was a noise- a gunshot-, the window is broken yet you made no attempt to fix it, you seem to be in a hurry, and while we all came running to see what was the problem, and Ciel was nowhere to be seen. Surely he would have wanted to know what was happening."

Sebastian was surprised that someone had been able to realize something important was taking place when he had dismissed it, but he had a reply ready in advance.

"The young master has better things to do then worry about-"

"Do not give me that." Rosalind interrupted him testily." First of all, even if your master doesn't think so, servants' safety is just as important as any nobles'. Secondly, I think even he would have been at least mildly curious as to what was going on. His absence there implies that he is most likely absent from the entire estate itself. I think I can conclude what has happened; your master has been kidnapped, hasn't he?" 

"What a ridiculous notion, if you don't mind my saying so, Madame." Sebastian shot down coolly. "Whatever could have possibly given you that idea that someone would kidnap my master?"

"He is in charge of the Funtom Company, is he not?" Rosalind replied. "He is also quite wealthy. Someone may want a ransom for him. He is a twelve year old boy, and- even though this is not strictly true in actuality- kidnappers will view him as being more vulnerable than he really is due to his young age and will be more confident about going after him. If I am right in saying this, than we surely must call the police."

Although Sebastian understood Rosalind's logic and all her observations rang true, he would not give her the satisfaction of getting involved nor would he contact the police. He already knew where Ciel was from the letter, so why bother with the police when he could get there sooner than they could, anyway? Moreover, Ciel would not _want_ anyone to know he had been gone. The Phantomhives did not get along well with the police and if word got out about Ciel's kidnapping it would certainly bring bad publicity to the Phantomhive name.

Sebastian put on his most dangerous silky smooth voice and puppy dog eyes. "Miss Rosemary, I assure you that I would never let such a fate befall my young master. While your concern is noted and appreciated by the Phantomhive staff, it is not necessary. Everything is as it should be. Now why don't you go back to your sisters and your books and enjoy yourself? I am off to run errands, but will be back if you need anything."

For a moment Rosalind looked as though she were about to argue further, but stopped. Instead she nodded at Sebastian and sent him a gracious smile. "I understand. It was silly of me to worry about him in the first place. You have everything under control. I apologize to you for causing any trouble."

"It is quite all right Miss Rosemary." Sebastian smiled his fake but flawless smile right back at her. He was mildly surprised she hadn't put up much of a fight. Her stubbornness from earlier would have suggested she would have, but she didn't. Of course, he was Sebastian Michaelis, _nobody_ could ever understand or see through his faced, and surely this girl was to be no different.

Rosalind Rosemary smiled to herself as Sebastian left the house; her plan had worked out perfectly. Rosalind had realized no good would come from her putting up a fight, and had decided to play along with Sebastian's game plan. In actuality, however, this was one puppet that Sebastian did _not_ have the strings up with. As she watched him leave she noticed that he did not summon a carriage but instead took off with impossible speed and was a blur in mere seconds. Mere moments after that Rosalind could see a figure chasing after him that she recognized as her own in the distance.

_Is that _really_ what the back of my head looks like? _Rosalind thought to herself as she shuddered. She was shuddering not because of her appearance- Rosalind would never shudder at such a trivial thing like that- but because she had seen her future self. Rosalind easily knew what had just happened; in the very near future, she must decide to chase after Sebastian and therefore Rosalind had just seen her future self. The reason this had invoked her shuddering was because the #1 rule of time travel was this: Do not be seen.

Many time travelers had gotten into serious trouble and had had to face the consequences by other people or even their past or future selves seeing them. Although Rosalind was safe, being as she understood what was going on and had planned on doing that, she told herself firmly that she must be more careful in the future about that sort of thing lest serious harm befall her.

However, looking closely there was another figure alongside her, a figure with scraggly waist length strawberry blonde hair named-

"Thyme." Thyme had just entered the room and saw the same thing that Rosalind had.

"What's going on?" Thyme asked and unlike Sebastian, Rosalind made no attempt to persuade Thyme to leave her alone and instead filled her in on every detail, including the events she had kept secret from her sisters.

"I'm coming with you." Thyme decided and Rosalind didn't even bother arguing being as she could tell that even if she told her not to, Thyme would follow her anyway.

The girls took out their pocket watches and set them back to when Sebastian had literally just left the mansion. These were no ordinary watches; these watches would enable the girls to travel through time. Literally _through_ time itself. By doing this, the girls could see and hear everything Sebastian did without him or anyone else apart from their past selves being able to see or hear them. There were two reasons they planned on following Sebastian instead of just going to where Ciel was being held themselves; they did not know where Ciel was being held and also Rosalind felt that by them watching Sebastian without him realizing it may give her a better understanding of who or what he was.

Ciel stared down at the ground, tied up and beaten. His captor, Azzurro Vanel smirked. He had tried to negotiate a deal with Ciel to assist the Italian mafia with drugs, but the Queen's watchdog had refused and had been beaten as a result. What infuriated Azzurro was that no matter how many threats or beatings were made against him, Ciel never gave in. However, Azzurro thought smugly, he would surely give in soon enough.

Rosalind and Thyme came out of the time stream once Sebastian had taken care of all the guards in his way and had gotten inside White Chapel, the place where Ciel was being held.

As Rosalind and Thyme inspected the bodies lying down on the floor that Sebastian had attacked with _silverware_, of all things, Rosalind could not help but notice that although the bodies were unconscious, none of them were dead, only mildly injured. Interesting. What also interested Rosalind was that the more she had watched Sebastian's means of getting here- although the parts where he was running she could not see him- the more she was convinced of what she had thought from the start; that there was something truly unusual and not normal about him.

Both girls, now out of the time barrier and were now able to be seen and heard by others, pushed open the doors to where Ciel was being held and screamed. Sebastian's lifeless body was lying on the floor; evidently despite all the men he had taken out there were still some left that he had not beaten. Then suddenly a much more frightening sight happened; Sebastian's body that had _appeared_ dead stood up and said in an eerily creepy voice" Guns today are so much more efficient than they were 100 years ago." And with that being said he spat out the bullets that had been shot at him from his mouth.

Ciel's captor, Azzurro, was frozen in shock but managed to say quickly as Sebastian moved towards him," Wait, don't kill me! You can be my bodyguard instead. I will pay you twice as much as whatever he's paying you- no, ten times as much! And you can have all the liquor and the women you want too! Oh, look, there are even one's already here!" With this he pointed to Thyme and Rosalind. "_Excuse me!"_ Rosalind hissed, because even in the heat of battle she would not tolerate a sexist comment aimed at her and her sister. "I will have you know sir, that we are not your property and are our own individual human beings with independent minds of our own. You are not to make decisions for us!"

Sebastian ignored all this and said," It's a charming offer sir, but I have no interest in such materialistic things. You see I am simply one hell of a butler." And with that being said Sebastian's eyes flashed red and everything went black.

When Rosalind opened her eyes she felt her pace being pressed against something smooth and black. It felt safe there for a moment, but then Rosalind looked up and realized Sebastian was carrying her along with Thyme and Ciel.

"Please, put me down!" Rosalind exclaimed and Sebastian did as she asked. Ciel and Thyme were awake too.

"All right, will someone please explain to me _what is going on?"_ Rosalind demanded. Sebastian and Ciel exchanged looks for a moment and Sebastian was about to begin when Thyme cut across him. "I already know what you are." Everyone stared at her in surprise.

"You," she said." Are Justice! Am I right?"

"No, you're really not." Sebastian replied as Ciel and Rosalind both did face palms.

Sebastian than proceeded to explain what he really was. Afterwards, Rosalind kept asking him questions about himself, determined to fully understand him while Thyme kept jumping up and down, saying "OMG, OMG, this is so… so… AWESOME! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" After a while his got really annoying to the point where Ciel asked Rosalind," Can't you do anything to control your sister?"

"I'm sorry she can't help it; she's a sea turtle."*

"What?" Ciel stared at Rosalind.

"She decided that on the way over."

Ciel considered questioning this, but then decided that some things were simply just too weird to even think about.

As they reached the Phantomhive estate, Rosalind suddenly stopped in her tracks, for there, dangling in a tree was a petrified Batty. Underneath the Phantomhive servants were in hysterics, trying to get her down, but she was too scared to budge. Sebastian leaped into the air and returned Batty to safety. He handed her to Rosalind and she said so softly that no one else except for Sebastian could hear" Thank you."

From that they onward, though Rosalind had nowhere near forgotten the oven incident and Sebastian found Rosalind just as infuriating as he originally thought her to be, both were in an agreement on one thing: They both now held a grudging respect towards each other.

***Yep, that's the quote from my dad!**

**Thyme: Review for Finny because he's CUUUUTTTEE!**

**Finny:*blushes***

**You heard Thyme, please review! If not for me, than for Finny! Also, here's what chapter 5's chapter title is going to be "The horror of the gal pals part I" Please review!**


	5. the horror of gal pals part I

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or alerted!* hands out cyber 4****th**** of July celebration * you guys are awesome! But now that I've finished thanking everyone, I must warn you: This chapter contains the most fear inducing event that could possibly happen in a Black Butler fan fiction featuring Thyme Rosemary. You have been warned. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler… if I did, this would totally be in the anime/manga.**

Chapter 5: The horror of the gal pals part I

"You know, I really am envious of you, Bard." These were the words that came out of Thyme Rosemary's mouth one morning as she was talking to the Phantomhive chef, Bard.

"Well why is that?" Bard was both smug and surprised by this. "Besides the obvious reasons, I mean."

"It's because you were with Finny for an entire year of his life when I was not." Thyme explained to a rather confused Bard.

"Look, that's not something you really need to be jealous for-"But at this point Bard's words were toned out as Thyme started to monologue.

"You were there when his voice first cracked…"

"…I honestly don't know if that's even happened yet…"

If Thyme had even heard Bard-which was highly doubtful- she ignored him, and went on," You were there when he first learned how to drive…"

"God forbid we give that boy a steering wheel…"

"You were there when he had his first kiss…"

"Thyme, as far as I know he hasn't kissed any girls since he came here-" But at this point Bard's- who for once was the voice of reason- sentence was cut off with a loud gasp from Thyme.

"WAIT A MINUTE, FIRST KISS? FINNY-KINS HAS BEEN CHEATING ON ME?"

"Uh, you two were never even going out in the first place-"Bard attempted to rationalize with her but his efforts were in vain, for Thyme ran out of the room raging to go find Finny. Bard decided that he should probably follow her to make sure she didn't break anything… or anyone, for that matter.

"FINNY!" Finny had been working in the garden when he heard his name being yelled by Thyme and turned around to greet her, but Thyme cut him off.

"FIN-FIN, HAVE YOU BEEN CHEATING ON ME?" A rather mad looking Thyme demanded. Finny hadn't a clue what was going on.

"What? Thyme, what did I _do_?" He completed the rest of that sentence as," What did I do to _deserve this_?" but decided it best not to say out loud.

"Oh, never mind." Thyme said offhandedly and much more calmly than she had before, being as she now realized that since Finny didn't understand what she was talking about, he probably wasn't cheating on her. Thyme then did a little victory dance- much to the confusion of a very perplexed Finny- and in doing so accidentally broke Ciel's walking stick due to her super strength.

"Oh crud." Thyme stopped dancing, upon noticing the damage. Meanwhile Finny, Bard, Maylene, and Batty- both of whom had just passed by- all gasped. Tanaka had just been there the whole time without anyone noticing and merely went"Ho, ho."

"KYAH! What should I do Tana?" Thyme asked wildly, shaking Tanaka for an answer.

"Ho, ho." Tanaka replied.

"Okay, he says we need to fix this before Ciel sees this, and we _might_ need a manatee and a-"

"What is it of mine that needs to be fixed?" Ciel's voice came out of nowhere, causing everyone else to jump. Everybody sweat dropped. Ciel then noticed the damage done to cane he really didn't need but kept around just for show. As he opened his mouth to yell at them, Thyme whispered, "Everybody run. On three. 1-2-3!" And with that being said what happened next included a lot of running, hiding, and empty threats, but that's a story for another day.

And so it was that Ciel and Sebastian went to town the next day to buy a new cane, despite Ciel not really needing it. After buying the stick, they roamed around town as they made their way to the carriage, seeing and hearing the sights and sounds of London. Newspaper boys wandered the streets giving anyone who was willing to pay papers concerning the recent Jack the Ripper murders. Ciel and Sebastian drove home and upon returning to the mansion found that Rosalind and Thyme, evidently just returning from The Agency, had also just arrived. As Ciel was about to enter the mansion while Sebastian opened the door, he stopped dead in his tracks, truly horrified.

Sebastian noticed this, surprised; Ciel never showed this much fear about anything before. What could possibly be wrong? However as he peered into the mansion, he instantly understood Ciel's terror and his surprise at Ciel's behavior was nothing compared to this. For the entire entrance hall was completely covered from top to bottom with ribbons, stuffed animals, and other frilly decorations. There was not an inch of the room that was not covered with glitter and sparkles and there was a strong aroma of perfume and water lilies throughout the room. It was, in a word, truly terrifying, and cute.

"BWAHAHA!" Thyme was on all fours, tears of laughter- not terror- streaming down her face. Her fists banged the floor and she could barely breathe from laughing so hard. "BWAHAHAHAHA!" As Thyme's maniacal laughter bounced off the walls and rang throughout the mansion, a terrified Bard, Finny, and Maylene ran into the room, clinging to Sebastian for dear life.

"Whatever is the meaning of this?" Sebastian asked them. Bard was wearing a bib and baby bonnet, Finny was wearing rabbit ears and paws, and as for Maylene,- well, she had on the same clothes she usually did but decided to act terrified- which she truly was- so she could get away with clinging to Sebastian.

Thyme stopped laughing as soon as she saw Finny and squealed. "Ohmigosh Finny-kins, you look so cute!" And with that being said she pulled him into a hug to try to calm him down, upon noticing the look of deep disturbance on his face.

"What's the matter Fin-Fin-? Are you all right? Why do you look so scared… and cute!"

While Thyme was busy talking to Finny, Rosalind was standing in the doorway with a mixture of both shock and amusement on her face, unsure how to react, apart from saying three words:"Oh. My. God." Then, whipping her head around, she noticed two people were missing: Batty and Tanaka.

"Batty?" She called out, eyes scanning the room for any sign of them, a feeling of dread and fear making its way inside her." Tanaka? Excuse me, but has anyone seen Batty or Tanaka anywhere?"

Bard was the one who answered her. "The last I saw of them, they were with that crazy girl!" He pointed into the other room as he spoke. With that being said, everyone peered cautiously into the other room.

"…These ribbons are good too. But theses satin roses are the absolute cuuuutest! I was a little hesitant at first, but, like I thought, you wearing that are totally adorable! You look like Marie Antoinette!" A queer sight beheld them: Tanaka was wearing a blonde wig with curlers, merely going, "ho, ho." as he usually did, sipping his tea. Then the speaker of the voice turned around and saw them. A girl who appeared to be around twelve or thirteen, whose hair was worn in two thick, wavy, golden blonde twin tails, and had emerald green eyes, faced them. She noticed Ciel almost instantly, and ran toward him, locking him in a tight embrace.

"Cielll!" She gasped. "Oh, how I missed you! I wanted to see you!"

"E-Elizabeth!" He choked from the tight embrace.

"No, no, no!" Elizabeth scolded Ciel quite happily." I'm always telling you to call me Lizzie, aren't I? Just as I thought, no matter how many times I look at you, you're still the cutest!"

"Ahem, Miss Elizabeth," Sebastian greeted with a slight cough so that Elizabeth would let Ciel stop suffocating and breathe.

"Ah, Good day, Sebastian!" She greeted cheerfully in reply. "I have a souvenir for you too!"

And with that being said, Elizabeth than proceeded to pull out a frilly pink baby bonnet with roses on it, and placed it on Sebastian's head.

"Aah, you're so cute! You're always wearing black, so I thought these colors would look good on you!" As Elizabeth admired her work, the servants sniggered uncontrollably behind their hands. Meanwhile Batty emerged from behind Elizabeth- much to the relief of a worried Rosalind- and giggled too. Sebastian gave them all death glares, which shut the servants up right away, but Rosalind and Batty kept on giggling. Rosalind then whispered something to Batty, and Batty pulled a camera out of Rosalind's bag and Rosalind took a picture. Sebastian gave her a death glare in response, but this had little effect on her apart from shooting him an apologetic smile, shrugging, and mouthing the words _Sorry, couldn't resist._

Thyme, however, just lost control entirely. "OH THANK YOU, I WORSHIP YOU! YOU ARE MY GOD, MY HOLY BUDAHA! NO- YOU ARE AN EVEN HIGHER HONOR THAN THAT! Would you like to be… _Gal Pals_ with me?" Thyme stared up at Elizabeth in wonder, on all fours bowing her head to her, amazed that such a being could exist, tears of laughter, and awe in her eyes. This was _awesome_. Maybe they could make Finny cute together! How fun that would be…!

Sebastian ignored the craziness and, flashing Elizabeth a rather forced gracious smile at her said," Regard for the things I wear, that sort of regard for me… it is a great honor. Thank you."

"Happy to help!" Elizabeth replied, pleased at the thought of making someone else happy. Then, turning to Thyme, exclaimed," And yes, I would be delighted to be gal pals with you! It sounds so cute!"

"Ahem, more importantly Lizzie," Ciel coughed for attention. "Why are you here? What about Auntie?"

"I wanted to see you so badly I snuck out over here in secret!" Elizabeth cried arms around Ciel once more.

"WHAT?" Ciel cried, shocked and appalled. "Lizzie, that's dangerous, and..!"

As Ciel and Lizzie talked, Rosalind turned to Sebastian, and whispered, once she had overcome her giggling fit," Sebastian, who exactly is that girl?"

All of the servants and Batty and Thyme leaned in to hear the answer.

"That," Sebastian explained. "Is the Young Master's fiancée."

"WHAT?" Everyone except for Rosalind and Thyme screamed., and the spluttering began.

"How..?"

"He's only twelve, and she's not much older!"

"Why..?"

"Nobles marry nobles," Sebastian replied dully. "It is not uncommon in society for marriages among nobles to be arranged. The Young Master was arranged to marry Miss Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Middleford since before they were born. She is the daughter of a marquee and he is an earl. They shall marry when they are of age. " Sebastian concluded.

"Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia…" Thyme muttered, stumbling over the words.

"Ah, arranged marriages," Rosalind reminiscenced, completely unsurprised."I remember how my family always used to try to get me into one..."

Sebastian was about to ask what she meant by tried, but was cut off by Elizabeth's squealing yet again.

"Oh, Ciel!" Elizabeth sighed happily. "Let's have a ball here tonight, okay! For just us! Dancing with Ciel inthe clothes I picked out for him is like a dream! I will dress stylishly with all my might, too!" At this point Lizzie was lost in a daydream, oblivious to Ciel's protesting.

"UWHAH!" Thyme nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "That sounds like a great idea! I'll help you out for the ball, and I'd love to dress Finny up, too! Together we can make him even cuter than he is now! Aww, my super strong cutie!" As Thyme was gushing about Finny, Batty tugged on Elizabeth's sleeve shyly.

"Oh, yes!" Elizabeth asked, noticing the younger girl's presence.

"Um, excuse me," Batty asked quietly, blushing. "Can I… May I… May I please become gal pals with you? Please!"

"Of course you can!" Lizzie clapped her hands together happily at the thought of another friend. "We'd be happy to be friends with you, wouldn't we, Thyme? "

"Absolutely!" Thyme agreed.

"Well, there you have it! Now, let's make plans for the party…"

As the blondes eagerly conversed with each other, Ciel retreated to the safety of his study upstairs. He sat down and sighed, exhausted already. As Sebastian came in with Ciel's afternoon snack, a thought occurred to him. "Sebastian, go get Rosalind into my study. That's an order."

Sebastian bowed deeply, and said" Yes, my Lord."

Sebastian had expected Rosalind to be outside with the others, but instead found her to be in the library reading- he was completely unsurprised by this- a book of some sort. Sebastian knocked on the door, signaling his presence and Rosalind closed the book.

"Oh, hello," Rosalind responded upon noticing him." I had just taken one of the books off the shelves, but I was going to put it back as soon as I was done with it. I hope Ciel doesn't mind."

"It is quite all right." Sebastian assured her. "But why are you not outside with everyone else?"

Although Rosalind was admittedly older than the- he shuddered to think it-"Gal Pals"- he would have thought she would be engaging with the other girls.

"Oh, I simply felt like reading," She cheerily replied. "Did you need me for something?"

"Yes," Sebastian remembered what he had come here for. "The Young Master would like to see you in his study right away, Miss Rosemary."

Rosalind sighed, not at the request, but at the way he had addressed her. "I've told you, please, you really don't need to refer to me as 'Miss Rosemary.' There are two other people named Rosemary; calling any of us 'Miss Rosemary' just causes confusion about who you are addressing."

Despite these remarks, though, Rosalind got up and followed Sebastian upstairs into Ciel's study.

"You wanted to see me?" Rosalind asked as she sat down while Sebastian shut the door behind them.

"Yes," Ciel replied."I believe I heard you make a comment about your family trying to arrange a marriage for you but, by the sounds of this anyway, not succeeding. What do you mean by this?"

Rosalind was surprised by the reason Ciel had chosen to speak to her. She had expected this to be about business, not something personal, but she answered the question anyway.

"Oh, you see, although my sisters and I are time travelers, we were all born and raised in this time period. As is common in society, my family dealt with engaging in arranged marriages. Mine, unlike between you and Lizzie, was not arranged before I was born, but was arranged when I was older. Or at least, my family had _tried_ to arrange one.

Whenever a possible candidate came over with his family to meet mine, I would behave as horrid, wretched, and undesirable as possible. Good Lord, I was simply awful. You should have seen me…" Rosalind actually laughed as she used these words to describe herself, as if reminiscing fondly about old times with a friend, much to Ciel and Sebastian's surprise.

"Anyway, I would be so unpleasant that the possible fiancée's family would be so disgusted with me that, regardless of how much they wanted a fiancée for that person, would simply not allow me to be that fiancée. I threw food and temper tantrums, picked my ears and nose, wiped my hands on relatives of both my family and the candidate, his family and even the pets, chewed with my mouth open, spat, slouched, burped, sang randomly, made rude remarks, stuck out my tongue, made faces… you get the idea.

My family would keep trying to find more fiancées for me but no matter what it never worked out. Actually, sometimes I didn't even need to do all that; the family and the candidate didn't like me anyway for merely being myself. Eventually the attempts at an arranged marriage for me stopped all together."

"Why did you go to all that trouble, though?" Ciel asked her, didn't all girls of noble rank dream of marriages, be it arranged or otherwise? "And why did some of those people dislike you even when you _didn't_ do any of those things you just mentioned?" Although Ciel had a feeling he knew the answer to the second question, he asked anyway in case there was a different answer.

"Because I do not believe in arranged marriages." Rosalind stated, as though she were saying something perfectly ordinary as 'the sky is blue' or something of the like. Ciel and Sebastian stared at her. "What do you mean you do not believe in arranged marriages?"

"Just what I said." Rosalind replied calmly, entirely serious. "Arranged marriages are not arranged out of love, but out of financial and societal convenience. When an arranged marriage is made, it is made because it will somehow benefit one or more of the families partaking in it. In other words, if I had simply obeyed society's wishes, I would be letting _someone else_ choose who I would be with the rest of my life, or at least until that person died."

"I am not a pawn in someone else's game; I can make my own choices and decisions. _It's my life._ I am nobody's slave. I have a right, in my opinion, to choose my own mate if I want to. I know that some arranged marriages can be successful; the bride and groom can learn to love each other. Sometimes, they might even like each other beforehand and actually want to marry each other for reasons other than money or appearance in society. Some of my possible fiancées actually seemed quite nice and maybe we could even have learned to love each other."

"Then why did you still keep getting rid of them, if you thought you might like them?" Ciel questioned.

"The reason for that is this: _I do not want to _force_ my love onto someone_. That might work well for some people, but I know that it would not for me. If I ever get married, than I want that love to come naturally, not be forced, or learned until after the wedding. Besides, I think my outrageous behavior might have been a source of entertainment for some of the possible candidates.

As to you other question, well, smart females are not looked highly upon in society. Nor are outspoken ones looked high upon either. I was-and still am- a combination of both these characteristics and therefore did not do well with some of the families. I gave my opinions about topics that were discussed among the men, and I would prattle on about information I had read in books."

When Rosalind had finished talking, there was silence before a horrible thought occurred to Rosalind. "Ciel, you didn't call me up here because you're trying to break off your engagement with Lizzie, are you?"

Ciel was completely taken aback by this. Although he had not exactly been pleased about her redecorating the mansion for him, he would most definitely not break off his engagement with Elizabeth. "Of course not. I was merely curious as to what your comments meant. That is all. Sebastian, you may show her out the door and bring me some tea."

"Yes, my Lord." Sebastian bowed, placing his hand over his heart and opened the door for Rosalind as they left.

"Sebastian, do you think it necessary for a woman to marry?" The question came out of nowhere and at first Sebastian was unsure how to answer Rosalind's question.

"Why do you ask?" He decided it best to answer her question with a question.

" Among humans, the most common answer to that question would be,' yes.' but I am curious as to how a demon would answer that question is all." Rosalind explained.

Sebastian for once truly did not know how to answer. Weddings were traditional amongst humans but not amongst demons.

"Well, society thinks-"

"I am not asking what society thinks, I am wondering what _you_ think."

"Well," Sebastian truly thought about it for a moment. "I suppose not. Unless the woman in question would have something to gain from the marriage."

"My thoughts exactly!" Rosalind exclaimed so exuberantly that Sebastian had to resist the urge to back away from her a little. "I mean, I do not know if I'll ever get married; as of now at least."

"Have you considered children?" Sebastian asked her.

Rosalind paused for a moment before answering. "Yes, but I do not have to marry to have children. I can always adopt and anyway, being the proud older sister and guardian of Batty and Thyme Rosemary… I've got all the children I need for now. I mean, who knows, perhaps someday I _will_ marry, but as of now I do not deem it necessary." They were about to continue talking when a loud sound came from nearby.

Sebastian and Rosalind stopped what they were doing and rushed in the direction of the noise.

Ciel sat in his study thinking and a thought occurred to him: Although Rosalind had just told him a little of her past, there was still a lot he did not know about the Rosemary sisters.

**And thus ends part 1 of the horror of the gal pals. Review if you want to know what shall happen in part 2. Happy Independence Day and please review!**


	6. The horror of gal pals part ii

**Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, added to favorites, or alerts so much!*hands out 4th of July celebration leftovers.*Also the "put you in a home" line is from the movie "What's up Doc?". Ring ring, hello? is also from Charlie the Unicorn Now, on with the next chapter of the Gal Pals saga!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or What's up Doc? Or Charlie the Unicorn.**

Chapter 6: The horror of the Gal Pals part II

Sebastian and Rosalind heard a noise and ran to the location of the cacophony. They found Batty, Elizabeth, Tanaka, Bard, Finny, and Maylene, all of whom had been made cute by Lizzie. Looking around the room they found the source of the seemingly endless sounds come from Thyme, who was hyperventilating.

"Uh, is she okay?" Rosalind asked Lizzie and Batty, both of whom were staring at Thyme in shock and confusion. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Lizzie looked at Thyme with concern. "She just started to act like this a few minutes ago. I tried talking to her but she won't tell me what the matter is."

Thyme had managed to control herself a little and managed to choke out ,"Oh. My. God. Get. Ciel. Baby. Here. Now."

Sebastian went and brought Ciel downstairs to see what the problem was. After a hug from Elizabeth, Ciel sighed. "All, right Thyme, what seems to be the problem?"

"Everyone," Thyme announced. "I have an incredible theory that may prove to be correct."

There was a moment's pause as everyone waited with bated breath for Thyme to continue. Taking a deep breath, Thyme stated her theory." Batty Rosemary is really Ciel and Lizzie's daughter from the future!"

There was a very long silence, followed by unanimous facepalms. Seeing the incredulous stares cast in her direction, she insisted," What? Does no one believe me?" When everyone shook their heads she explained," Well, don't you think Batty looks just like the offspring of Ciel and Lizzie? Come on, don't tell me she doesn't look at least a little like them."

"Your stupidity never ceases to amaze me." Ciel muttered under his breath. Although admittedly Batty did look kind of like him and Lizzie, he was certain that the resemblance was entirely coincidental.

"Hey, don't call my sister stupid!" Rosalind had evidently heard his comment and was clearly displeased by it.

"Fine then," Ciel said, turning to Rosalind. "Your sister is not stupid; she is merely an obsessive idiot with super strength."

"Hey, don't call my gal pal an idiot!"Ciel turned in surprise to find that it was Lizzie who had said this.

"Be grateful; idiot is the kindest thing I can call her." Ciel replied.

"Guys, it's no big deal," Thyme interjected much to everyone's surprise. "Ciel Baby is just jealous... I've yet to figure out why, but he is. That I am certain of."

Ciel did a facepalm, muttered something about needing an aspirin, and left the room.

After Ciel evacuated the room, - which was probably a wise decision on his part-, Rosalind turned to Thyme and gazed deeply into her sky blue eyes. "Thyme, you know I love you don't you sis?"

Thyme nodded and stared back into her sister's brown orbs.

"Good." Rosalind continued. "Then you'll understand that I'm saying this because I care about you: Batty and I are going to put you in a home."*

"Another one?" Thyme exclaimed eagerly.

Ciel sat down at his desk and sighed. It seemed he had been doing that a lot as of late. There was a knock on the door and Sebastian entered the room.

"Young Master." He asked." I do not have proof but is it true that you have no dancing instruction?" When Ciel turned his chair away from him, Sebastian took that as a "yes."

He sighed." It's no wonder. It seems that even if you were invited to parties you would be a wallflower."

Ciel scowled. "I haven't got time for games; I've got work to do."

Sebastian frowned. "Young master you cannot just turn down Lady Elizabeth's request. Imagine how it would affect the Phantomhive name if later on in life if you were to refuse to dance with some nobleman's daughter simply because you do not know how. You must attend the ball tonight and learn how to dance properly." There were some arguments tossed back and forth, but with a little ribbing Ciel eventually gave in.

"Very well," he reluctantly gave up." Send for a tutor. Mrs. Bright or Mrs. Rodkins will do."

"It is too late in the day to send for a tutor." Sebastian informed Ciel, who for a moment felt saved before Sebastian continued;" I shall have to be your dancing instructor."

"You idiot!" Ciel snapped, looking horrified." I can't dance with a tall man!"

He was about to protest further when there was a knock on the door and Rosalind entered the room.

"Hello," She stated." Excuse me, but the Gal Pal trio- well, mainly Thyme and Batty- wanted me to ask Sebastian something. "Here she turned to look at Sebastian as she spoke. "They asked me- I swear to God they were actually wondering about this. Note how I say_ them_ not me. Anyway, as I was saying, they asked me if it were possible for you to have an Afro. I told them there was no way it was possible without the use of black magic for that to happen. Then they pointed out that you are a demon and that also Bard seems to have fairly straight hair yet he whenever he blows up something he always somehow results in getting an afro. So their question is this: Would it be possible for you to have an afro?"

As Sebastian felt his silkily smooth raven air, he decided," No. I have not tried to give myself that particular hairstyle nor will I ever." This seemed to be a good enough answer for Rosalind, who was about to turn and leave when Sebastian suddenly had an idea.

"Oh, Miss Rosemary." He called out to her and Rosalind stopped. "I am about to give my young master a dancing lesson; would you care to join us?"

"My God, please no!" This was not the answer Sebastian or Ciel had been expecting. Sebastian had hoped Rosalind would stay because Ciel would not put up much of a fight with Sebastian in the presence of a lady being as it would make him appear to be undignified and could sully the Phantomhive name. That and Sebastian would thoroughly enjoy his master's humiliation. Her initial rejection was both disappointing and surprising.

"I am terribly sorry!" Rosalind apologized profusely. "It's just that, to be frank, the thought of dancing absolutely terrifies me. I cannot, never have, and I sincerely doubt ever will, be able to dance. Not even if it would somehow save my life, which is doubtful to the extreme being as my dancing usually endangers others' lives as well as my own. Believe me; we are _all_ much better off if I do not engage in dancing of any form or any other similar physical activities. "

"I take it you have had bad experience, then?" Sebastian questioned.

"Definitely." Rosalind agreed, looking more than slightly horror-stricken at the mere thought.

"What I was inquiring of you earlier, Miss Rosemary," Sebastian explained, noticing that for once Rosalind had not insisted on him addressing her by her first name, a sign that she was truly terrified. "Was simply whether or not you would like to watch my young master learn how to dance? You do not need to partake in the activity yourself if you do not deem it necessary."

"Oh, thank you ever so much!" Rosalind looked very relieved at this." Yes, of course, I'd love to watch!"And with that being said Ciel's new form of torture had only just begun.

Dancing with Sebastian was difficult for Ciel, to say the least. Sebastian was much taller than he was and it felt awkward on Ciel's part to be dancing with another man. "It appears your talent for dancing is nonexistent rather than lacking, my young lord." Sebastian had even had the audacity to say as he smirked at Ciel. Rosalind could not help giggling at some points, but at the same time was much more sympathetic than Sebastian had been.

Every time he sent a glare her way for giggling she would stop, apologize, and give him an encouraging smile and would often say things to him like," Keep trying!" or "Don't give up!" in an attempt to lift his spirits and raise his pride. "I know you can do it!" She would say. "I have faith in you!" Although some people might view these little acts of kindness as endearing, Ciel viewed them as rather annoying. After a while Rosalind could tell she was making it hard for Ciel to focus, she quieted down.

Right when Ciel was thinking he just might be starting to get the hang of this, right when he was thinking he just might be able to pull this thing off, the door burst open and something happened that made him lose his focus entirely.

"AaaaRRRAAgHHH!" A battle cry rang out and a figure dressed up in a French maid 's costume sporting fake cat ears and a tail, with black make up smeared across their face had just burst into the room carrying what at first glance looked like a gun of some sort. Rosalind and Ciel did what any two relatively sane and remotely normal people would do in a situation such as this: They screamed.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" Sebastian, the instant he heard the screams, leapt up into the air, reached into his pockets and pulled out his extremely sharp silver ware which he was about to throw at the attacker before recognizing the attacker's identity and put it away.

"BANG!" The attacker shouted, and fired. However, instead of bullets coming out of the gun, various kinds of glitter, sequins, sparkles, perfume and other sweet smelling fragments, ribbons of all color and sizes, sashes, fake flowers, and finally confetti and streamers came out of the gun instead.

"Aw, sweet, it works!" Rosalind would have recognized that voice anywhere.

"THYME?" She said between gasps.

"Oh, hello there." Thyme said casually, as though she had not just fired a bunch of cute accessories from a gun- or rather a _water gun_, that is.

Meanwhile, Ciel was clutching his hearts, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. "My mansion!" He breathed for the umpteenth time that day.

Even Sebastian was slightly disturbed by this. "Would you please care to explain to me what has just happened, Miss Thyme?"

"I can answer that!" Came Lizzie's voice so suddenly that everyone jumped. Batty, Bard, Finny, Tanaka, and Maylene emerged from behind her as well, looking just as freaked out as everyone else. "My gal pals and I were busy playing fashion show and planning for the ball when Batty here had an absolutely fantastical idea!" Everyone turned to stare at Batty, who in turn blushed and tried to hide behind Maylene.

"Anyway," Elizabeth plowed on enthusiastically." Batty suggested we should find a way to make the mansion and its inhabitants cuter faster! Then Thyme suggested we should use something called a "water gun "to shoot out cutesy stuff!"

Here everyone looked at the water gun in Thyme's hands. "I came up with everything we should load this water gun with and we came in here just now to try it out, and it worked!" Lizzie's brilliant green eyes lit up with glee and her twintails bobbed up and down as her body and voice shook with excitement.

"There's still one question though," Ciel said, staring at Thyme. "What on Earth are you wearing?"

"Oh, this?" Thyme twirled around, showing off her costume. "You like? Isn't it so cute and cool? We were playing dress up earlier and I found this. What do you think, Finny?"

"It's… really cute, Thyme." Finny complimented, staring at the ground blushing.

"Thanks." Thyme thanked Finny, blushing too. _Not as cute as you, though!_ Thyme mentally screamed in her head.

"Oh dear," Sebastian said suddenly so that everyone stopped paying attention to Thyme's outfit. He was standing next to Rosalind, whose body appeared to be completely frozen and her complexion now suddenly seemed unearthly pale. "Girls, I think your sister has gone into shock." He stated, turning calmly to Batty and Thyme. Well, that just threw them over the edge entirely.

"AAAH!" They said, freaking out after a moment's pause.

"OMIGOD, OHMIGOD!" This was coming from Thyme, who at this point was hyperventilating. Meanwhile Batty was practically bawling her eyes out in a corner of the room while Lizzie tried to console her.

"GAH!" Thyme was still freaking out. "IF ROSALIND CAN'T BE THERE FOR US, WHO'S GOING TO PAY THE BILLS AROUND HERE? WHO WILL BE THERE TO CONSTANTLY NAG US INTO DOING OUR CHORES...? Actually," Thyme stopped screaming for a moment and suddenly seemed very thoughtful about this. "That part wouldn't be so bad. I would never have to do any housework again! Whoop!" Before Thyme could continue celebrating, another thought occurred to her.

"Wait a minute," She mused, a terrifying thought occurring to her. "WE WON'T BE ABLE TO EAT IF ROSALIND'S NOT THERE! I CAN'T COOK BECAUSE I'M NOT ALLOWED IN THE KITCHEN OR ELSE IT WILL CATCH ON FIRE OR MY SUPER STRENGTH WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING! BATTY CAN COOK BUT ONLY IF ROSALIND'S WITH HER TO MAKE SURE SHE DOESN'T ACCIDENTALLY KILL HERSELF OR SOMETHING!"

Bard stared at a sobbing Batty in surprise. "You can cook?"

The little girl nodded as her shoulders shook.

"But you're only-what? - 5 years old at most?"

Thyme took a pause from freaking out and explained." Oh yeah, Batty's amazing when it comes to cooking. Actually, she's so good she's _way_ better than Rosalind. Anyway, as I was saying earlier: OMIGOD!"

"All right, all right, will both of you please calm down?" It was Rosalind, who apparently had either not gone into shock or had but had been broken out of it by her sisters' screaming.

"YOU'RE ALIVE!"Rosalind soon found herself in a very tight group hug with both her sisters, who were both nearly sucking the life out of her.

"Of course I'm alive!" Rosalind choked out between gasps. "But I won't be much longer if you keep suffocating me like this!"

After they stopped, Thyme said," Sorry for scaring you earlier Rosy."

"It's fine," Rosalind, muttered, massaging her neck from where her sister's had nearly strangled her in their group hug. "Look, how about we just make an agreement to not give me any more heart attacks in the future? Okay?"

"Okay," her sisters chorused in unison and then everybody left the room.

"I think blue will definitely suit Ciel! When I saw the clothes I bought for Ciel in London I fell in love instantly!" It was now time for the ball Lizzie had planned, and she was very eager for it to start. All of the servants and Gal Pals had gathered in the ball room, waiting for the ball to start. Rosalind was there too, but was sitting on a chair nearby reading a book. She and the gal pals had decorated the ball room together, dressed up the servants, and Lizzie had even picked out the clothes Ciel would wear to the ball. She smiled at the thought of it. She had worked hard on making everything cute all afternoon and truly hoped Ciel would enjoy the ball with her.

_Maybe he'll even be able to smile again._ Lizzie thought to herself, silently praying for this to happen. _I haven't seen him smile since that day…_ For a moment an unmistakable feeling of sadness overcame Elizabeth, the kind of feeling that could not be covered up with jewels, hair ribbons, or muslin gowns. _Please,_ she silently prayed._ Have Ciel smile tonight. Please. Let him be happy, he deserves that._

Finny, Bard, and Tanaka were all staring at themselves in the mirror, wondering how they had gotten into this situation. Bard was a wearing a typical Japanese high school girl uniform with a long curly blonde wig, Tanaka was wearing a pink, flowery kimono with a long raven wig, and Finny was wearing an outfit almost identical to Thyme's. He, like Thyme, was wearing a French maid's outfit with cat ears and a cat tail. Although Finny didn't mind what he was wearing as much as the other servants did. While Bard and Tanaka had been "persuaded" (a.k.a forced) into their costumes, Finny had not.

What had happened was that Thyme had enjoyed playing dress up so much she had _asked_ Finny to join her. She said he didn't have to if he didn't want to, but when Finny had seen how happy she looked at the thought, there was no possible way he could turn her down. Also, it didn't hurt that three certain girls kept fawning over Finny, hugging him, and gushing about how cute he looked. Finny liked making other people happy, and besides: he actually kind of liked the costume a little. He liked the way the skirts felt on him and that he could feel a breeze. He was also very thankful that Thyme had persuaded Elizabeth _not_ to put a corset on him and that they let him dress himself. From what Thyme had told him about corsets, it sounded like a _very_ dangerous idea to wear one.

"Ring, ring."

"Hello?"

Batty and Thyme were both currently playing a game while they waited for Ciel to attend the party. Thyme would make the sounds of a telephone and Batty would pretend to answer it.

"Ring ring."

"Hello?"

"Ring ring."

"Ring ring."

"H-Hello?"

"Ring ring-"

"You have a bad connection!"

Ciel had just appeared at the top of the staircase, ready for the party.

"CIEL!" Elizabeth squealed, and eagerly ran over towards her fiancée, happy he could attend.

"You're so cuuuute!" Elizabeth at this point was twirling Ciel around in circles from excitement.

"My eyes weren't wrong! Look, everybody else is cute too, see!"Lizzie pointed towards the servants as she spoke."I've invited them to come to the party, too! But out of all these people here Ciel, you are the absolute- huh?"

As Lizzie took hold of Ciel's hand she noticed something; Ciel was not wearing the ring she had picked out for him. Instead he was wearing another ring, a different ring.

"_Ciel!"_ Elizabeth's cute, cheerful face personality had suddenly taken on a darker, angrier demeanor. "_Where is the ring I had chosen for you? There was a ring I had bought that had matched your clothing, wasn't there?"_

Personally, Ciel was quite frightened for his life; he had never seen his fiancée quite _this_ angry before. Oh, sure, when they were younger she would throw the occasional temper tantrum when she was mad or when things didn't go her way, but he had never seen her in such a rage as was this.

However, he decided to act cool, calm, and in control."This ring is fine."

Elizabeth seemed to briefly consider this for a moment, then completely lost it. "NO!" She shrieked. "I went to a lot of trouble to make everything adorable for you, but that ring is totally not cute!"Then she suddenly stopped shouting and started crying. "Are you saying you don't want the things I brought back for you, Ciel?" She sobbed.

Ciel sighed; he hated seeing his fiancée cry. "No, that's not it; that ring is…"

"….Mine now!" Evidently Elizabeth's tears had been crocodile tears. She had pretended to cry in order to distract Ciel and in doing so snatched the ring off his finger, away from him.

Ciel was horrified. "Li—! "

Lizzie, however, was not listening." I took it! This ring is super old! The size of the one I chose is better, too-"

"_GIVE IT BACK!"_ Everyone froze, even Lizzie. Ciel was looking positively furious. "Give that back, Elizabeth."

"Why… Why are you mad like that?" Elizabeth asked, voice trembling. She had never seen Ciel like this before. The old Ciel had always been laughing, always smiling. They had gotten along so well. This new Ciel was definitely different and had a terrible look of fury in his eyes- well, technically _eye_ being as the other was covered by his eye patch- that she had never seen before.

"I worked so hard," Elizabeth went on, tears building up in her eyes now."I just made you cute! So why are you mad like that?" Anger took over fear, and emotions took over practicality and common sense. Didn't he realize how hard she had worked? "You're terrible! I hate this ring! Take it!" And with that being said Elizabeth threw Ciel's ring on the floor without thinking.

A horrible silence followed and there was no side apart from the breaking of glass as Ciel's ring smashed and scattered into pieces across the floor.

Then what Ciel did next was even worse than the terrible silence that had followed. Seething with rage, he swung his hand forward in an attempt to strike Elizabeth. Elizabeth flinched and involuntarily stepped back in terror, tears streaming down her face as she braced herself for the dreaded blow to land. Except that it never did.

"Young Master." It was Sebastian who had stopped Ciel from hitting his fiancée. "You've forgotten your long awaited new cane." Sebastian said, handing Ciel the new cane they had bought recently in an attempt to control the situation at hand.

"Ciel!" Rosalind yelled, walking over towards him. "Although I understand your anger, _nothing_, and I mean _nothing_ excuses you for hitting people! Regardless of who it is, how mad you are, or what they've done to you, violence is _not_ the answer. _Ever._ There are other, more civilized ways to settle matters such as this. Even though you did not actually physically hit her, attempting to do so is just as bad as actually doing so being as in either case your actions would be the same. How could you? "

Ciel stared at the ground, unsure of what to do. Meanwhile Elizabeth continued to cry, shocked and scared at what Ciel almost had done.

"You have my deepest apologies, Lady Elizabeth." Sebastian said, bowing deeply to a still sobbing and hiccupping Lizzie." That ring is very important to my master. It has been passed down from generation to generation in the Phantomhive family for years. There was only one in the world."

"I- It was that precious to him," Lizzie whispered, horrified as she realized what she had just done." It was that special to him, and I… I broke it! Ciel… that ring… I didn't know!-"Elizabeth was at a loss for words, almost unable to believe the monstrous deed she had just done.

"Ciel- I- I'm so sorry Ciel! If I had known I never would have… Oh, I am so sorry!"

As Elizabeth continued to apologize deeply, Ciel did something that made everyone gasp: He gathered up the remains of the ring from the floor and threw them out the window.

"C-Ciel, what are you doing?" Elizabeth gasped as she ran over to the window in a failed attempt to stop him. At least when the ring was on the floor there had been a possibility of fixing it, but now with it scattered who knows where, all hope was lost at the prospect of fixing it.

"It doesn't matter," Ciel muttered, not looking her in the eye." It's just an old ring. I can buy another one."

"Well, yes but," Elizabeth hiccupped."It won't be the same. It won't be anywhere near as precious to you-"The rest of Elizabeth's sentence was drowned out by a series of uncontrollable wails and sobs.

"It doesn't matter," Ciel declared, in a firm and strong voice."Either way it won't change who I am; I am still Ciel Phantomhive, head of the Phantomhive house."

Meanwhile Elizabeth was still crying, unable to forgive herself for the horrendous deed she had done. Thyme walked over to her.

"Hey," She said, looking Elizabeth straight in the eye. "We make lots of stupid mistakes, we fall down- a lot- in some cases more than others…, and we get more worked up and freak out over boys more than we probably should, but if there are three things us teenage girls are good at, it's this: 1. staying strong. 2. Lifting ourselves off the floor, and 3. Moving on. So in other words, we came here to have a good time, so let's enjoy ourselves. And who knows; maybe ten years from now we will look back on this, laugh nervously and quickly change the subject."

Elizabeth nodded, wiping her eyes on her sleeve, and took deep shuddering breaths to control her sobs.

"What's with that face?" Ciel had overheard their conversation and had decided to join them."It's a terrible face for a lady."Here he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped Lizzie's face and let her blow her nose into it. Meanwhile Rosalind and Thyme were sending him death glares- did he really think insulting her appearance would make her feel any better?- but decided not to do anything yet in case he somehow redeemed himself.

"I wouldn't want to invite a girl like that to dance, now would I?"

"You mean…" Elizabeth's voice trailed off as she stopped crying and stared at Ciel in wonder.

"Let's forget those bad things and dance the night away until dawn with evening party etiquette, shall we?" Ciel held out his hand and then did something he had not done in years; he smiled."My lady?"

"Yes..." Elizabeth's eyes lit up, for once at a loss for words to describe her happiness. That one word was all she could say.

The rest of the party was like a dream and passed in a blur. Finny and Thyme happily danced together, managing to knock over quite a few objects in the process due to their clumsiness. Lizzie made a decision about her opinion on Ciel's smile; although it was somehow different from when they were younger, it was real and she liked it all the same. Actually, she might even like his current smile better now than the one he wore a few years ago. The young couple danced the night way until it was eventually time for Elizabeth to go. Happy and sincere farewells were exchanged, and as Elizabeth went away Rosalind pulled thyme over to the side to talk to her.

"I am so proud of you," Rosalind said quietly."You were such a wonderful, amazing, friend to Elizabeth. I am sure she appreciated it very much. Thank you. And those words you said were so wise and true… You have no idea how much I love and am proud of you." Rosalind and Thyme then embraced. "You do know that although sometimes we don't get along and that sometimes we tease each other that you are my sister and I always do and always will love and be proud of you. You do know that, right?"

"Of course I do," Thyme replied, looking Rosalind in the eye. "And I can say the same about you, too."

Rosalind laughed and tousled Thyme's hair affectionately. "Now, we really should get home; it's far past you and Batty's bed time."

**And thus ends the gal Pal saga… for now. Although I have a feeling we will be seeing more of them sometime in the future… be afraid; be very afraid…Anyway ,here's a preview for the next chapter: What will happen when Thyme discovers YouTube? Who is really behind all the mysterious Jack the Ripper murders? ( If you've watched episode 6 or read volume 3 of the manga than you already know.)And how does time travel come in to all of this? All these questions and more may or may not be answered over the next couple of chapters. Please review if you want to know what will happen next. Please review!**


	7. Getting there is only half the fun

**Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, added to favorites, or alerts. By the way, as of now Leap of Faith has 10 reviews *hands out 10 reviews celebration***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler, Charlie the Unicorn, or just about anything Thyme mentions in this chapter.**

Chapter 7: Getting there is only half the fun

As summer strolled into England, the temperature increased as did the local Jack the Ripper murders. One day Ciel received a letter from the queen requesting for him to solve said murders. Finally: a case for him to solve with the assistance of the Rosemary sisters. Now perhaps would be a chance to put the Rosemary sisters' abilities to the test. If they proved to have any, that is.

"Cake or death?" These were the words that came out of Thyme's mouth one day as she burst into the living room. Rosalind, who was sitting in a chair by the window reading a book, looked up wondering what her sister could possibly be up to this time." Pardon?"

"Cake or Death." Thyme repeated. "Those are your choices. Which will it be?"

Rosalind decided it was best to just play along and then Thyme might possibly tell her what that was about. "Cake."

"Is that your final answer?"Thyme asked, as if she were a game show host.

"Being as I am not suicidal, yes."

"Bzzzzzz. Wrong!" Thyme declared, triumphantly, making the sounds of a buzzer.

"WHAT?" Rosalind exclaimed, in shock." How can I possibly be wrong? Cake is clearly the better alternative."

"While you are right about that," Thyme explained smugly." your second answer was incorrect. Although cake is most definitely the right answer, what you said after that was wrong; even a suicidal person would choose cake over death."

Rosalind loved cake as much as the next person, but she doubted this to some extent." Thyme, I really don't think-"

"DON'T UNDERESIMATE THE POWER OF CAKE!"Thyme thundered with an evil glint in her eyes. Rosalind decided it was best to just cave in during this situation and dropped the subject.

"Say, Rosy," Thyme continued.

Rosalind took notice of the fact that Thyme had called her "Rosy." This was usually an indicator that trouble was up ahead.

"How many birthdays does the average man have?"

Rosalind thought _very_ carefully before answering. She did _not_ want to get this one wrong. Rosalind hated being wrong. "Well, that depends, taking into consideration of which time period said man lives in, his habits and overall state of health , whether or not he dies of natural causes or not, was he born with an illness of some sort or-"

Thyme stopped Rosalind before she could go on. "Look, all of that doesn't matter; just any ordinary man."

Rosalind thought very hard, deciding to average a man from the past's age and one from the future. Eventually, after several mental calculations and details, she came up with an answer.

"The average man has roughly 78 birthdays."

Rosalind hoped she had been right, but again Thyme made that annoying buzzing sound."Bzzzzzz. Nope! Wrong again, I'm afraid."

Rosalind was aghast. "But the average lifespan-"

"A person can have many birthdays, but they can have only one _birth day_."

Rosalind put a fist on her hand, eyes wide, mouth open, and nodded enthusiastically. Although Thyme was pleased to have finally outsmarted Rosalind for once instead of Rosalind outsmarting _her_, Thyme had to admit; Rosalind was sort of creeping her out with her overreaction.

"You're, uh, you're agreeing with me a little too much there." Thyme then decided to propose another question.

"If there are five apples on a table and I take way two, how many do I have?"

"You have two."Rosalind was suddenly in a much better mood now that she had gotten _something_ right.

"Ah, there's the know-it-all we all know and love!" Thyme cheered enthusiastically. "Everyone," Thyme called out to no one in particular." The know-it-all has returned!

"Know-it-all…?" Rosalind muttered under her breath and was about to make a retort to that but Thyme had already plowed onto the next question.

"Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the tallest mountain in the world?"

"Mt. Everest." Rosalind had decided it was best not to over think these questions like she had earlier, and it was now working to her advantage.

"A truck is carrying pumpkins, eggplants, and tomatoes. It encounters a sharp curve- what drops?"

"Its speed."

Thyme thought for a moment before posing the next question."How many letters are there in the alphabet?"

"That depends on whether you're talking about the_ phrase_ 'the alphabet' or the actual alphabet itself." Rosalind asked," Which one are you referring to?"

Thyme paused for a moment, then" I'm not telling!"

"What?"

"La la la la la." Thyme sang, putting her hands over her ears, ignoring Rosalind as she protested. "I can't hear you! La, la l-"

Rosalind could tell there was no use in arguing, when a thought occurred to her.

"Hey, Thyme, where did you find these questions anyway?"

Thyme stopped singing and ignoring Rosalind and then proceeded to show her where she found this information.

Thyme went over to the area the computer Rosalind had brought back from the future was kept. "I used the internet and- hey! What's this?" Thyme had noticed that in her Google search the name of a site had appeared. Rosalind leaned over to read the title.

"It appears to be some sort of site called…_YouTube_." As Rosalind pondered over the meaning of this site, Thyme clicked on it. "I wonder what's on here…"

Ciel was sitting in his study staring in amazement at what he had just accomplished. He had finally made a pyramid of cards and was about to add the final card on top. Slowly, so it wouldn't fall. No sudden movements now…

"CIEL BABY!" Thyme burst into the room, slamming the door as she opened it. Sure enough the cards all fell to the ground.

"What do you want Thyme?" He snapped, quite annoyed that his card tower fell.

"Ciel," Thyme asked, entirely straight facedly. "Are you the Banana King?"

Ciel stared at her." Excuse me?"

"Are you the Banana King?" She repeated.

"_Go away."_ Ciel said, and rang for Sebastian.

"You called," Sebastian arrived just seconds later.

"Yes," Ciel ordered. "Take _her_ away from me."

"Yes, My Lord." Sebastian bowed, then stood up and took Thyme by the hand like a parent would a small child crossing the street. "All right then, it's time to go now."

Thyme was about to protest before a thought occurred to her, causing her to gasp."GASP! Sebastian, are _you_ the Banana King?"

"No, I am simply one hell of a butler." Sebastian replied matter of factly.

After Sebastian escorted Thyme out of the room, she decided to go find Finny, who, she knew, would be out in the garden.

"Finny!" She squealed running up to him, squishing him in an embrace so tight that it would probably kill or at least seriously injure normal people due to her super strength but worked perfectly on Finny due to him having super strength as well.

"Thyme!" He smiled, happy at seeing his best friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Finny," Thyme told him, very seriously. "I have something important to ask you." Thyme then went down on one knee and pulled out a tiny box from her pocket.

Finny waited with bated breath, waiting for her to pop the question.

"Finny," Thyme whispered quietly, looking at him with full eyes. "Open the box."

Finny did as she asked and inside the box he found two things: A ring made out of duck tape and a slip of paper. He opened the slip of paper and found writing on it. It said:"Finny, are _you_ the Banana King?"

Finny stared at the piece of paper for a long time before he spoke. Then, "Thyme?"

"Yes?" Thyme whipped her head around quickly, eager to hear what Finny had to say.

"I_ love_," He began, and Thyme looked up at him with eager eyes, hoping he was going to say what she thought he was going to say. "I love Bananas! What's the Banana King? Does he get to eat a lot of bananas?"

Thyme blinked. He had not said what she had been hoping him to say, but soon got over it upon seeing the light and innocence in Finny's eyes. "Oh, sure Finny!" She assured him. "He gets to eat as many bananas as he wants, and guess what Finny? You _are_ him. Here, I happily give you this duck tape ring for your coronation as the Banana King!"Thyme slipped the ring onto Finny's finger.

She had worked very hard on her ring- she had had to find out the measurements fore Finny's finger so that it would fit perfectly, and had had to remake it several times because her clumsy fingers and super strength had kept interfering. But at last she had done it, and the happy look on Finny's face was all worth it. Then an idea came to her.

"Hey Finny," Finny broke out of his trance when he heard her voice.

"Yes, Thyme?" He looked at her, curious as to what she'd say.

"Although I am sure you will make a wonderful ruler over all the bananas," Finny was slightly confused as she said this, but kept listening." Maybe you would like some company. Can I be the Banana Queen?"

Finny's faced lit up with joy. "Of course you can, Thyme!" Then his face fell.

Thyme looked at Finny with concern."What's wrong Banana King?"

"You gave me this wonderful duck tape ring," Finny wailed, eyes filling with tears. "But I don't have anything to give you in return!" Finny said as he started to cry.

"WAAAH! I'm sorry!" he apologized.

"It's okay, Finny!" Thyme cried, trying to comfort her friend. "You don't need to give me anything in return. Ever."

Finny stared up at Thyme. "Really?" He sniffled.

"Really." Thyme said quietly, looking into the eyes that drove her wild. "Just be happy."

Thyme wondered if he really knew what those words meant.

"You wanted to see us, Ciel?" Rosalind stated as she and her sisters arrived in Ciel's office later that afternoon. Sebastian prepared tea and snacks for the group as they entered the room.

"Indeed." Ciel replied as they all sat down. He took out a letter from his pocket. "The Queen has requested we solve a case for her. This case is-"

"Is it a magical map to Candy Mountain?"Thyme asked, pointing at the slip of paper.

"_What?"_Ciel nearly choked on his tea.

"It's a magical map to Candy Mountain!" Thyme cheered excitedly. "Candy Mountain, everyone! We're going to Candy Mountain!"

Ciel stared at Sebastian." Sebastian, did you put anything in her tea?" he asked wearily.

Sebastian shook his head. "Of course not, My Lord."

Ciel then turned to Rosalind. "Before we can get started, would someone please do something about…_this_?" he glared at Rosalind, clearly expecting an explanation.

Either because she didn't like the way he was talking to her, or because she was too weary to explain about Thyme discovering YouTube and Charlie the Unicorn, or perhaps a mixture of both, Rosalind decided to answer Ciel's question with a question.

"What did she do?"

Ciel tried to remain calm as he spoke. "Your sister has rudely interrupted me while I was busy dealing with …. Certain important business affairs. Then she proceeded to ask me nonsense questions such as if I were a king of bananas and continued to ask this question to various servants."

"Oh, don't worry, Ciel Baby!" Thyme called out to him. "I already know who the Banana King is; it's Finny!"

"THERE IS NO BANANA KING!" Ciel stood up and said with an eye twitch.

"Sun the non-believer, "Thyme chanted. Batty joined in with her. "Shhhhhuuuuuuunnnnn. Ssssshhhuuuuunnnnn, Shhhuunnnnnnnnn."

Ciel was about to retort, but found he had no strength to; somehow all of Thyme's energy had exhausted him.

"Sebastian," Ciel sighed, burying his face in his arms. "Fetch me some aspirin."

Sebastian bowed deeply, in complete sympathy and understanding. "Yes, My Lord."

Once Ciel had taken his aspirin and regained his composure, he began at where he had left off.

"As I was saying, I have a favor to ask of you."

"You need us to make someone to disappear for you?" Thyme asked suddenly.

"Wha- no." Ciel was a little uneasy at whatever Thyme meant by "disappear". Knowing her, it could be a fate _worse_ than death. Probably an annoying one at that. However, he decided not to show just how uneasy the thought made him.

"I mean, if you wanted us to, we probably coul-" Thyme began but Ciel interrupted her.

"_No."_ Ciel said firmly. "Whatever it is, just no."

"As I was saying, I have a favor to ask of you." Ceil continued from where he had left off as if nothing had happened. "You are time travelers, correct. And evidently have knowledge of events in the future. What do you three know about the mysterious Jack the Ripper murders?"

"Oh, I was just looking into that!" Rosalind exclaimed and eagerly fumbled through her bag and Thyme noticed that the book she pulled out was the one she had been reading at the house.

The title of the book was _London's most famous crimes and murders of the Victorian era_.

"What with the Jack the Ripper murders that have occurred as of late," Rosalind explained to everyone." I have been doing some research on the matter. I checked this book out of The Agency library recently- it's a book that will be published sometime in the future- and it gives information about some of the Jack the Ripper murders. Truly fascinating, but at the same time rather gruesome…"

"Tell us what you know." Ciel interrupted as Rosalind stared at the book fondly.

Rosalind glared at him. "You _could_ say please sometimes, you know."

Being as he could tell that Rosalind would not obey him unless he turned his order into a request, he sighed and said, "Fine, then. _Please_ tell me what you know about the Jack the Ripper murders."

Rosalind beamed at him, and then proceeded to say everything she knew on the topic, like a teacher educating a student. "Of course. The Jack the Ripper murders have baffled historians for ages. There are many various theories concerning the subject, but it is, was, and may possibly forever be unknown who was behind these mysterious murders. There are-"

Before Rosalind, who was thoroughly enjoying herself, could go on, however, Ciel interrupted her.

"You mean to tell me that these murders were never solved?"Ciel was quite surprised by this, as were Thyme, Batty, and even Sebastian.

Rosalind nodded." That is correct. Or at least, as far as I know of. I have ready many accounts from the future, but it is possible that it is somehow discovered further into the future than I have researched, but judging by how far in I have already looked into it and how many reports I have read, it is unlikely. There is and was no evidence as far as we know, that could lead to finding out the identity of the culprit. Actually, there may even be more than one person behind these murders. As I had said before, there are a wide range of theories centered on the killings, such as…"

Rosalind than discussed all she knew and many possible theories concerning the case, which took quite a while being as she knew _a lot._ Ciel had Sebastian take notes and listened thoughtfully.

When she was finished, Ciel made a decision. "Very well then. Within a few days time you shall travel to London with me to assist in solving this mystery, as the queen instructed me to."

"Cool!" Thyme cheered, but Rosalind clearly thought differently.

"No." Rosalind said firmly, causing Thyme to stop talking at once. "I am sorry, but no. I will not allow you two to get involved with this."

Batty and Thyme stared at her in disbelief. "What? Why not?"

"Because," Rosalind attempted to be patient. _Attempted_ being the key word." This is a live professional _murderer._ He-or she- will _kill you_ if given the chance. I'm sorry, but I can't let you work with us; it's too dangerous. I don't want to risk either of you two getting hurt."

Thyme was outraged." What, because the same thing can't happen to you? Are you_ invincible _or something? Because I don't see any reason why you would be anymore safer solving this case than we would be."

Rosalind thought a moment before answering." I'm you older sister and guardian. I am responsible for you and Batty. I am doing this to protect you and Batty."

"That may be true," Thyme argued still. "And I understand why you don't want to get Batty involved, being as she has no experience with working with The Agency, but I do. And if we're going to keep working with Ciel, this won't be the last case that comes up. I've done fieldwork before; and I'm bound to need to do more sooner or later. I don't see any reason why you should be able to work on this if I can't. "

Rosalind was silent for a very long time before replying. Thyme's arguments did make sense, but she didn't want her sister to get hurt. Rosalind _knew_ for a fact that she would be unable to live with herself if something like that were to happen. _Maybe I am being overprotective,_ Rosalind thought._ But really, I just want to protect my sisters. That may seem dumb to some people, but it isn't to me._

Then Rosalind considered what would happen if she _didn't_ let Thyme work on the case. Of three things would probably happen A):Thyme would decide to solve the case on her own, anyway. B) If Thyme were to be left alone, Rosalind would come back to find the house in ruins. C) Somehow by not being involved, and not understanding what was going on, the killer may murder Thyme or use her as bait for some reason. Any of these scenarios would be placing Thyme in danger. Actually, it was almost less dangerous for her to work on solving the case than _not_ solving it.

This was how Rosalind reached her final decision."Okay, you can help. But there will have to be certain conditions, of course, and certain rules, safety procedures, and guidelines to follow-"

But at this point Thyme was barely listening when another thought occurred to her. She may be pushing her luck with this, but it could actually benefit Thyme and everyone else if Rosalind agreed to this.

"Hey, Rosalind, "Thyme said to her sister. "I was just thinking. Well, even though Batty's not solving the case, she _is_ coming with us, right?"

"Yes…" Rosalind would never let Batty be away from her more than a few hours, let alone for days, weeks or for however long it took them to solve the case."Why do you ask?"

"Well, don't you think she'll need someone to watch her when we're not with her?"

"Why, yes!" Rosalind mentally scolded herself for overlooking this important detail. "Yes, absolutely. How very considerate of you to bring it up, Thyme! Thank you for reminding me."

"Well, I think I have someone in mind that can help."Thyme tried very hard not to grin.

"Oh, really?" Rosalind asked. "Who do you have in mind?"

"Finny." Thyme replied, and then explained." He's really good with Batty, and because of his strength would be able to protect her if anything were to happen."

Rosalind considered this thoughtfully, and then said," I would be all right with that."

Thyme and Batty both started cheering, but Rosalind held up a hand to silence them. "_However_," She went on." That is not entirely my decision to make. We will also need Ciel's permission to join, and, of course, we need to make sure Finny would be willing to do this."

Thyme gave Ciel puppy dog eyes, and pleaded." Oh please, Ciel! It's for the good of the case!"

Ciel stared into her pleading eyes apathetically and coldly. "You have ulterior motives, don't you?" he said and the whole room fell silent. "You- for reasons I do not comprehend, nor do I wish to-, merely want to be with my gardener. Am I not right? Surely you can last a few days ranging to a few weeks at most without him."

It was as if a missile had been set off. Thyme stood up and banged her fist on the desk. "No!"

Thyme's usual carefree, upbeat demeanor had vanished in the blink of an eye. Blue eyes usually so bright were now deadly serious. "I _know_ for a fact that I cannot live without him." She looked Ciel straight in the eye as she spoke. "He was missing from my life for an entire year- no, _more_ than a year- and I had no idea what could have happened. I have finally got him back again, and I am _not_ going to lose him again. You can all go to London, but if Finny can't come then I am not going to join you. And I really do think he can help with Batty for the case. " She added.

Ciel would never have believed it possible, but the only time Thyme was worse than when she was joking was when she was serious. He considered the consequences of not letting Finny come with them. If Thyme would not come, then Rosalind may not either, and that could be a disadvantage for him, being as he would have less knowledge about the case. Also, if Thyme were to stay at the estate, it would probably end up in ruin. Even if they forced her to come with them but without Finny, she would be that much harder to deal with.

He gave in."All right." he sighed.

Thyme was delighted. "I'm glad you understand my reasoning, Ciel. I mean, Finny and I are getting married, after all."

Batty fell out of her chair at this. Rosalind, who had just been taking a sip of tea, choked on it and did a spit take. "Oh, sorry!" Rosalind apologized quickly to Ciel, face flushed. Then turning to Thyme, demanded" What do you mean you and Finny are getting married?"

"Oh, he just doesn't know it yet." Thyme explained matter- of -factly. "I mean, judging by that incident in the garden and how he didn't seem to even suspect that I might mean anything romantic by it…" Thyme's voice trailed off and she sighed fondly."Ah, he's so innocent… he's adorable like that."

And so it was that over a matter of days they would leave for London, not knowing what lay in store for them…

**More cyber goodies to all who review! Next chapter will actually get to solving the case. Some questions that may or may not be answered over the next couple of chapters: How will Finny manage as a babysitter? What business do the Rosemary sisters have to take care of in the future? Will I ever stop rambling? Please review to find out these answers and more, and for the cyber gifts, of course! **


	8. Things I am not allowed to do

**Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, favorited or alerted! Also, did you know that this fic has been up for one month now!*hands out 10 review celebration leftovers and one month anniversary celebration* Also, the quark joke is from Artemis Fowl: The lost Colony**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler. Or Artemis Fowl.**

Chapter 8: Things you are not allowed to do..

Over the next couple of days Ciel, Finny, Sebastian, and the Rosemary sisters prepared for their journey into London. They were unsure exactly how long they would be gone, and Rosalind was going mad with packing. Actually, if you asked anyone who was with her over the next couple of days, she may have just been going mad in general.

Rosalind had insisted on writing lists for what they should pack, and frequently inspected her sisters' luggage to make sure they had everything they needed. And it seemed like, according to her at least, they were always missing something.

"Thyme, don't you think you should bring that fine dress over there? We might be going somewhere special, say; to catch Jack the Ripper in the act, and you would need to dress nicely in order to blend in." or," Batty, why don't you bring an extra pair of stockings with you? I know you also are bringing socks with you, but do you really think three pairs of stockings will be enough?"

Rosalind was not only taking note of what others were packing, but of what she was packing herself. She had wanted to bring so many things with her to the point that not all of them could even fit in her suitcase. Instead of simply leaving some things behind, Rosalind actually went out to buy another suitcase for herself to squeeze what wouldn't fit in the other one into the new one as well.

Rosalind had brought about half her wardrobe with her, and would have brought even more with her before her sisters managed to convince her that they would not be staying during the winter time and therefore there was no need to bring so many of her winter clothes with her. Clothes were not the only thing Rosalind was bringing with her, though. Rosalind had packed nearly every single book she owned with her. In fact, she had packed so many books with her that they all actually gotten _their own personal suitcase._

Rosalind, Thyme, and Batty combined had all actually packed so much that they had literally packed more than half of everything they had owned. Rosalind had always been an over packer by nature, but there was a particular reason why she had been even more obsessive than usual. Rosalind wanted to make sure they were prepared for anything that could possibly happen while they were in London, what with the whole Jack the Ripper case and all. In truth, Rosalind was more worried and stressed out for her sisters' welfare rather than eager for this trip.

Not that she wasn't eager to find out about these mysterious murders or anything, a mystery that had stumped people in the past, present, and future, at that. Quite the opposite, actually. The thought that she may be able to solve one of Europe's greatest mysteries was exhilarating. She was merely concerned for everyone's safety, was all.

Rosalind had been busy making a list of rules for her sisters to follow, and the more she thought of everything that could possibly go wrong, the longer the list became. She frequently reviewed these rules for and about her sisters with everyone so that if more people knew it was less likely for them to get into danger. However, the rules kept being revised and added on until the morning of the trip. There were a total of 100 rules exactly. And on the way to the town house they were staying at, Rosalind decided to read all 100 out loud to her sisters.

"…Rule# 99: Under no condition whatsoever are you allowed to ask Sebastian if his "demon senses are tingling". Rule # 100: If the thought of anything makes you giggle for more than 15 seconds, you are to assume you are not allowed to do it. "Rosalind was concluding the rules she had written out on a list for her sisters to follow. They were all riding in an open carriage so that Sebastian could hear and see everything they were doing.

"I don't know why I've never thought of this before," Rosalind said to Sebastian happily; Rosalind was enjoying herself immensely. She had an odd obsession and penchant for lists. Whether it was writing them or reading them- or both on this occasion- Rosalind had a strange fondness for lists. "This is _perfect._ It lists all the rules so that they know in advance, and will keep them safe. Oh, this is great!"

Sebastian decided it best not to point out the fact that just because the rules were written down didn't necessarily mean that Batty and Thyme would follow them. There were two reasons for this: Because 1.) He did not want to upset Rosalind. An upset Rosalind may cause problems if she's too busy worrying about her sisters to focus on what she's supposed to be doing. And 2.) It was possible the girls had not yet considered breaking the rules and he did not want to be responsible for all hell breaking loose.

Rosalind had evidently not stopped talking to her sisters however. "Rule #101…"

"Wait a minute!" Thyme interrupted. "What's with #101? I thought there were only 100?"

"Oh, originally there were," Rosalind replied."But over the course of my reading this I have added on five more so that now there is a total of 105."

"You fun- sucker!" Thyme cried out angrily. "Fun-sucker! Fun-sucker!"

Rosalind took out a pen and began scribbling something onto the list." _You- are- not- allowed- to- call-your-sister- a- fun-sucker."_ Rosalind murmured as she wrote.

Thyme, however, found a loophole around this. Turning to Batty, she hollered," Fun- sucker! Fun-sucker!" Batty started to cry.

"Thyme!" Rosalind exclaimed angrily, putting a comforting arm around Batty. "There there, honey. Thyme, what did I just say?"

"You said I am not allowed to call my sister a fun-sucker," Thyme defended." You never said _which _sister I'm not allowed to call a fun-sucker."

Rosalind frowned and wrote a new rule. "_The- word- fun-sucker- is- hereby- prohibited. Period."_

Thyme scowled; she had hoped to have found another loophole in that but couldn't.

"Sorry, Batty," Thyme apologized sincerely as Rosalind went on reading the rules.

"Rule #101," Rosalind continued." You are not allowed to call yourselves, other people, or anyone for that matter, a know-it- all. Even if the term is intended as a compliment or some sort of term of endearment. Rule # 102: The phrase "Walking Encyclopedia" is also not allowed

Rule # 103: You are not allowed to call people "Book Worm". Rule# 104: The word, "Geek" is banned. Rule#105: The word," Dork" is not allowed."

As Rosalind finished off naming the last of the rules, Sebastian had the feeling that Rosalind had been called a number, if not all, of these names before at some point in her life, regardless of whether it was by her sisters or other people.

Rosalind had still more ideas."Rule#108: "Uptight" is also prohibited. Rule#109: "Nerd" is also banned. Rule#110: "Goody Goody "is not allowed either." Evidently she had been called these names before too, Sebastian mused. All of the other rules seemed to have been put in place for her sisters' safety and welfare (Sebastian didn't even want to think about what he would do if anyone asked him if his "demon senses" were tingling.) but these last ten seemed to be put in place for more personal reasons.

The carriage came to a halt. They had reached their destination. As they got out of the carriage, Rosalind added," However, the words Brilliant, Brainiac, Genius, Smart, Clever, Intellectual, Highly Logical, and Intelligent _are_ allowed if you two ever feel like using them."

Upon entering the house, everyone was in for a surprise. They found the living room was practically turned upside down, and was a complete mess. Objects were scattered everywhere and the culprits stood in the room rummaging through cabinets: Lau and Madame Red, accompanied by her butler Grell.

"Where _are_ the tea leaves in this house?" Madame Red wondered as she searched through the cabinets.

"I can't find them either." Lau mused with a sigh as he searched the floor for them.

"Madame Red! Lau!" Ciel exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Madame Red explained. "Since my cute little nephew is here in London, how could I _not _come to visit him?"

Thyme's jaw dropped and she gasped loudly at this. Everybody stared.

"What?" Ciel asked her, slightly annoyed.

"You never told me you two were related!" Thyme said indignantly, as if this were something vital for her to know.

"Well we are." Ciel sighed and then proceeded to explain. "Angelina Durless is my mother's sister, but she now goes by Madame Red. She works as a doctor at the Royal London Hospital and is the former wife of Baron Barnett."

"We had no idea guests were coming," Sebastian stated before Ciel could lose his temper." I apologize for not accommodating you earlier. I'll go prepare tea for you immediately."

After everyone had chosen what rooms they were staying in and put their luggage away, they joined Lau and Madame Red for tea to discuss the Jack the Ripper murders. Rosalind sent Batty to go play with Finny while this was going on. It was then decided they would all visit the crime scene of one of the more recent murders. Upon arriving, the found that the police would not allow people to view the body, so they went somewhere Ciel had in mind instead….

"Ciel, why are you familiar with a place like this?" Madame Red demanded of her nephew.

They were standing outside an old, creepy shop with ivy growing along the stones. There was moss on the building and sign that read:" Undertaker". There was a fake-or at least what they _hoped_ was a fake- scull attached to the sign and cobwebs hung in the shadows.

"It's because the person the Young Master knows works as an undertaker." Sebastian explained.

"An undertaker?" Madame Red repeated uncertainly. Lau raised an eyebrow and Rosalind and Thyme exchanged curious glances. Rosalind silently thanked herself for being smart enough not to bring Batty with them and wondered if perhaps this was a bad idea.

Ciel ignored them all and stepped into the shop. The room was dimly lit and cobwebs hung on the walls and in the corners. There were dark stains on the walls that even Rosalind did not want to know were, but silently prayed that they weren't blood. Coffins were scattered around the room of all shapes and sizes, many of which had crosses on them. It was, in a word, creepy.

Rosalind stepped in cautiously and pretended not to be scared. Madame Red, Grell, and Lau followed behind nervously, taking in their surroundings. Well, actually it was only Madame Red and Grell who were acting nervously; Lau was only mildly interested.

However, Ciel walked in, leading the way, followed by Sebastian. Both of whom seemed perfectly calm here. "Are you there, Undertaker?" Ciel called out into the darkness.

Maniacal laughter was the response to this. "H-Hi. I knew that you would come… "

Suddenly one of the coffins from behind them opened, causing Grell to fall down in shock, Madame Red to gasp, and Rosalind to jump. "Wel-come Earl…" A man with long silvery hair that obscured the top part of his face and eyes peered out of the coffin. "Do you want to see how it feels to sleep in my custom made coffin?"

"I did not come here to play, today." Ciel replied calmly and coolly. "Undertaker."

The undertaker stepped out of the coffin, his long black robes swishing in the wind coming from outside as he did so. "You needn't tell me," His voice was like that of a gate that needed to be oiled. "I know exactly why you're here. With just one look… I can tell what's on your mind."

Only Thyme, apart from Sebastian and Ciel, did not seem disturbed by this. On the contrary, her reaction was different than what one would expect. "Okay, before we start," Thyme grinned." may I just say: Nice place you have here, dude!"

Rosalind did a face palm while everyone else stared at Thyme.

"Whatever is a "dude"?" Madame Red asked, confused.

"Oh, it's slang for a boy or man, and sometimes people even associate it with girls." Thyme explained, deciding it best not to mention that it was futuristic slang.

Ciel coughed loudly to get everyone's attention back to the matter at hand. "Will you help us, Undertaker?"

"Anything for you, my earl." Undertaker replied. "Just take a seat first; I'll go make a cup of tea."Catching the confused looks on everybody's faces as to where they should sit, he added," Why not sit on top?" He pointed to the coffins.

Once everyone settled down, Undertaker began," I cannot give away this information, freely, you know; there is a price."

"I see, so that's how it is." Lau sighed. "You're very good at dealing business Undertaker. How much money do you want?"

At this Undertaker just snapped. "How much money?" He repeated, and ran towards Lau, shaking him. "I don't want any of the Queen's money!"

"Now then, Earl." Undertaker stated calmly, leaving a frightened Lau and turning to Ciel. " Show me a "first-rate laugh." If you do, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Lau went first. He told a Chinese pun that no one understood, and therefore failed to make the undertaker laugh. Madame Red went next. Her joke was very… inappropriate, to say the least. Rosalind put both her hands over Thyme's ears, and motioned for Sebastian to do the same to Ciel. Sebastian did so immediately. "I don't think my sister should be hearing this…" Rosalind commented after Madame Red failed to make the Undertaker laugh. "And you're nephew is _right here_, you know."

"Oh, well if you're so amusing then," Madame Red retorted. "You try, then."

Rosalind went over to the undertaker and told her joke." Legally speaking, how can you kidnap something that isn't supposed to exist? " When no one answered her Rosalind went on quickly," I doubt anyone ever accused Murray Gell –Mann of kidnapping a quark, even though he knowingly carried a billion of them around in his pocket." Rosalind chuckled lightly, as though she found this to be the height of hilarity. Nobody else did.

"Anyone?" She asked wearily, looking around the room for anyone besides her that understood the joke. Ciel, Sebastian, Madame Red, Lau, Grell, Undertaker, and Thyme all shook their heads.

"What's a quark?" Madame Red asked, pleased that she wasn't the only one to have failed to make the undertaker laugh.

Rosalind, although annoyed and disappointed that no one understood her joke besides her, was eager at the chance to display her knowledge of quarks. "A quark is an elementary particle and fundamental constituent of matter." When all she received were blank stares in her direction, Rosalind opened her mouth to try to find another way of explaining, but Thyme stopped her.

"Okay," she interrupted. "This has gone on far enough. I _know_ that we are in trouble when the joke telling is up to Rosalind. Now, everyone, watch and learn."

Ignoring the splutters of indignation coming from Rosalind, Thyme then proceeded to pull out a feather she had found from who-knows-where, and placed it below the Undertaker's ribcage.

"Coochie coochie coo!" Thyme cooed as she ran the feather up and down his rib cage. Undertaker, try as he might, was unable to contain his laughter and was on all fours from laughing so hard at the touch of the feather. This resulted in divulging the information that they wanted.

Undertaker then proceeded to talk about the people who had been killed, the damage done to their bodies, and the various possible ways they could have been murdered. It was truly a disturbing discussion, and the only people who did not seem to be unnerved by it were Ciel and Sebastian. After they had finished their business there, they left the shop; some more quickly than others.

"Goodbye, Undertaker!" Thyme called, waving as they left the building. "See you again soon!"

"As I know already," the Undertaker waved back, chuckling to himself as they left. "As I know."

"_We are not coming back here again." _Rosalind hissed to Thyme once they were out of earshot. That place had seriously freaked her out.

"Aww," Thyme whined. "Why not?"

"Although I admit he was useful," Rosalind whispered back. "That guy is a creep. _He_ could be the one behind these murders for all we know."

Thyme had no answer to that. It _was_ possible that he could be the culprit: Right now, everyone was a suspect unless they had evidence to prove otherwise.

Rosalind tried to calm herself down by focusing on something else. In this case, on Ciel's ring.

"Oh, Ciel" Rosalind said, as Ciel turned to look at her. "Isn't that the same ring that was broken?"

"Oh, yeah," Ciel replied offhandedly." Sebastian was able to gather up all of the pieces and fixed it."

Catching the look of amazement on Rosalind's face Sebastian could not help but smirk.

"Oh wow," Rosalind looked impressed." But with all of those pieces you threw out the window… it's really amazing he could find any of them, let alone put them all back together again, don't you think?"

"I suppose." Ciel replied, refusing to look either Sebastian or Rosalind in the face.

Sebastian smirked again." If I couldn't do that much for my master, than what kind of butler would I be?"

"What do you think after hearing that?" Ciel asked the group once they were inside of the carriage.

"I've been thinking," Rosalind voiced her opinion. "The murderer should be an anatomical expert, but also know where the police are when they commit the crime. That would explain why they haven't been caught yet. As for motives, they could be taking the organs for some kind of ceremony or because they're in a, "black magic cult." Rosalind concluded.

"That's all well and good," Madame Red was both impressed and exasperated at this analysis. "But right now, where do we start from? It's "the season" right now; there are so many people gathered at the capital! Not only are us London doctors under suspicion, there's also the Head Physicians that aristocrats from all over could have brought. And not just doctors," Madame Red went on." Students of medical schools could also be the culprit. Like Lau, there are many foreigners that brought weapons as well."

Sebastian had an idea." In that case I shall go compile a report on the suspects immediately."

And when Sebastian said immediately, he meant _immediately_, because the next thing anyone knew he had jumped out of the carriage and was gone.

"Love it when he does that." Thyme muttered, while everyone else looked shocked.

They returned home later than anticipated due to Grell driving the carriage and getting them lost. When they returned, they were in for a shock. Sebastian was there, already with a list of suspects in hand.

"You have a list of suspects already?" Rosalind was stunned.

"No, of course not," Sebastian responded and Rosalind was about to reply, when he continued. "I have already crossed off names of the suspects, discovered their alibis, and narrowed it down to one person: Aliester Chambers, also known as the Viscount of Druitt."

Everyone was amazed, to say the least.

Madame Red was the first to speak. "Tell me Sebastian," she breathed. "How did you do it? Are you really just a butler? You're not part of her majesty's secret service, are you?"

"No," he replied, a sly smile spreading on his lips." I am merely one hell of a butler."

**Please review!**


	9. Oh my, it appears that we're stranded

**Thanks so much to those who have reviewed, favorite, or alerted this story. Also, Leap of Faith now has 20 reviews! *hands out one month anniversary celebration left overs and 20 reviews celebration.***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler. Or Charlie the Unicorn. Or Bob the Builder.**

Chapter 9: Oh my, it appears that we are stranded

"The Viscount of Druitt will be holding a ball in a week's time." Sebastian was saying to the stunned group. "We may attend the ball and find out how he is killing all of his victims."

"Excellent," Rosalind beamed at him, impressed. "That sounds like a plan. We will, of course, need to think very carefully and put a lot of thought into our strategy; we don't want to be Jack the Ripper's next victims, do we? Also, we need to be absolutely certain that we have the right person before we turn them into the authorities."

One could practically imagine the wheels turning in Rosalind's mind as she thought about all of this. Thyme then gasped suddenly," I need to go see Finny!" and left the room, leaving Rosalind, Lau, Madame Red, Sebastian, and Ciel in her place. Before Rosalind could go on, however, Ciel thought of something she had not and interrupted her train of thought.

"You do understand we are _all_ to attend this ball, correct?"

Rosalind's face fell at the prospect of attending the type of social event she so despised, but nodded seriously. She would be willing to put up with some of the awkwardness, unpleasantness, uncomfortableness, and a bunch of other words beginning with un- and ending with –ness if they were to catch the murderer. So many people had died already and by catching this villain they would be causing so many lives to be spared.

"And therefore, remaining inconspicuous is a necessity, am I right?"

"Yes." Rosalind agreed slowly, wondering what he was getting at.

"Then you cannot look the way you do now when we attend this ball." Ciel finished

Rosalind stared at him in confusion, but had a feeling she knew what he was getting at. "Pardon?"

At the moment Rosalind had on a short sleeved mini dress- with no gloves- and that had a hem that went slightly above the knees.

"Your dress is unfashionable," Ciel stated flatly." The hem should be longer and if you are to wear short sleeves, you should be wearing gloves along with it. Also, there is the matter of your bag."

"What's wrong with my bag?" Rosalind said defensively. Rosalind usually carried around a bag with her that was made entirely out of many different kinds of duck tape. The colors and patterns varied in the most random places, yet at the same time seemed to blend perfectly in other areas of the bag.

"Have you ever _seen_ anyone besides yourself carry around a bag like that?" When Rosalind did not answer, Ciel went on. "Of course not. _Nobody_ carries around bags made out of... whatever it is that bag is made of. "

Rosalind glared at Ciel coldly, and there was a look of fury in her eyes Ciel had never seen before." This bag was made for me by someone I care about very much; Batty. She made it all by herself and gave it to me as a present. I have carried it around both in public and in private with me. Don't you _dare _insult her work! _Ever!_ "

Rosalind looked around the room, brown eyes flashing dangerously. Batty was nowhere to be seen, fortunately. "Do you have any idea how heartbroken she'd be to hear you say that? I don't care what anybody says! I am proud of my little sister and her work and I _adore_ this bag! If you- or anybody else for that matter- has a problem with it, then I am sorry about that, but there's nothing in the world that's going to change my mind. I am bringing my sister's bag with me, and that is final."

Rosalind was not finished yet, though." And as for how I dress, that's really none of your business! The way I dress is also fine, not to mention actually comfortable. It's scathing hot out; I think it's okay to wear short sleeves without gloves. And when I'm out in public I make sure the hem of my dresses don't even go higher than where my fingertips end if I hold my arms against my sides. Even in the privacy of my own home, the hems of my skirts are around mid-thigh length. In fact right now, my dress is literally only a couple of inches above the knees."

"I fail to see what's so scandalous about that. Besides, I would like to point out that that girl who is sometimes with Lau, - Ranmao- wears her skirt 10-12 inches above the knees _at least_, _and_ her skirt has slits up what little leg it actually does cover. Even with high socks that's awfully short. Why is no one making a big deal out of that, but you are making a big deal out of something as trivial as this?"

Ciel couldn't stand it any longer. "It's because you look ridiculous!" Ciel snapped. "Honestly, what kind of woman looks the unusual, unattractive, unladylike and unfashionable way you do?"

One might expect Rosalind to give in or burst into tears then and there, but she didn't. Instead she stood up, and declared coolly," I am sorry you feel that way Ciel, but if you don't like the way I look that is your problem, not mine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have much better and much more important things to do then waste my time listening to you insult me. Good day." And with that being said Rosalind walked out of the room.

Rosalind walked until she reached her room. She really did have better things to do; she had not bothered to unpack yet, something that was very uncharacteristic of her, being as Rosalind usually unpacked whenever she left home almost as soon as she got there. There just hadn't been enough time to do it since they had arrived. Besides, unpacking would keep her mind preoccupied from what had just happened. It wasn't like it was anything new though; people often criticized Rosalind, whether it was for the way she looked or the way she acted. In fact, as Rosalind opened one of her suitcases, she had a flashback from when she was younger…

_Three young girls were outdoors. One was mousy haired and eyed, and compared to the other two girls, in some people's opinions, was arguably plainer. The other two, however, were stunning. With chocolate brown curls that fell perfectly in place, doe like brown eyes, and porcelain like skin, they were beautiful. However, beautiful as they were, their words were not, as the mousy-haired girl was finding out. _

"_Ugly!" They taunted, and the girl trembled. "Stupid know-it-all! " The girl wanted to point out that the phrase was a contradiction in itself, but decided it best not to. "Why don't you even _try_ to fit in, Rosy?" they demanded angrily. _

_Rosalind trembled." I am trying!" she wailed, body shaking. They could never understand how hard she was trying. _

"_Whatever," they snarled turning their backs on her. "We're leaving! Goodbye, freak!" And with that being said they left Rosalind alone._

Rosalind quickly tried to shake the memory from her mind, and attempted to focus on unpacking instead. Rosalind concentrated on determining where to place her possessions in the bedroom. To the casual observer, Rosalind would probably appear to be somewhat of a neat freak, but Rosalind preferred to think of herself as well- organized and orderly, which was also true. As she finished up there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Rosalind called and Madame Red stepped into the room.

Rosalind was surprised. "Madame Red?" She asked. If she had been expecting anyone to look for her, it would have probably been one or both of her sisters. "Oh, hello there. Can I help you with something?"

Madame Red ignored her and sat on the bed, something that was both rude and arrogant in Rosalind's opinion. What Madame Red did next surprised her entirely. "I apologize for my nephew's behavior earlier."

Rosalind was completely thrown off guard. In Rosalind's mind, Madame Red's behavior from earlier that day had been rather presumptuous, so her apologizing now was quite surprising, to say the least.

"He was very rude to you earlier," Madame Red went on, ignoring the stunned look on Rosalind's face." I came up here to make sure he did not offend or hurt your feelings too badly."

"But why, though," The words came out of Rosalind's mouth before she could stop them. "I mean, I appreciate your concern and I think it's very kind for you to come up here and everything." Rosalind added quickly, not wanting to sound rude or ungrateful. "It's just that… I'm just a little surprised you would bother checking up on me."

If Rosalind had been taken aback earlier, she was completely shocked by what Madame Red said next. "You remind me of myself from when I was younger." Madame Red explained to a now speechless Rosalind." Always seeming to be viewed as second best in comparison to… some other people."

Here Rosalind noticed that it was evident that Madame Red had someone in particular in mind, but said no more on the matter. Madame Red continued," Anyway, like me in the past; we are both brainy but underappreciated. "Again there was a look in Madame Red's eyes suggesting she was reminiscing about something more than she was letting on. "And finally, I was and you appear to be thought of as… less than attractive by various people in society."

"I understand how it feels, "Madame Red went on." So I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I am all right," Rosalind answered truthfully after a moment's pause. "Thank you for checking up on me, though." Rosalind's opinion of Madame Red had changed drastically over the past couple of minutes. Her behavior since they had first met had influenced Rosalind to judge her as irresponsible, frivolous, and crude. Now, however, Rosalind was starting to see a different side of Madame Red.

Rosalind now knew that Madame Red could also be intelligent, outspoken, and compassionate as well. In fact, when Rosalind thought about it, they could get along quite well. They had some similarities, and they would be living under the same roof and working together over the next week or so, so they might as well at least try to get along.

"If you like," Madame Red was not done talking yet. "I could give you a makeover. For the ball, I mean," She added, noticing the confused look on Rosalind's face." We can make you look so stunning that everyone will regret ever saying or thinking any of that stuff about you earlier. Why, you might even fit in and maybe be able to enjoy yourself at the party!"

"_Fitting in."_ The phrase jumbled around in Rosalind's mind and brought back old memories.

"No thank you," Rosalind declined, much to Madame Red's surprise. "I… am tired of trying to, 'fit in.' I have tried to, but it just isn't me. In fact, I'm actually _glad_ I will never fit in among society. I am who I am, and I am not ashamed. I have people who love and understand me. What more could I possibly want? Thank you for coming here; I appreciate you consideration and thoughtfulness. Really, I do. But I am fine. I hope that we can be friends."

Madame Red, although surprised by her answer, nodded and left the room.

Meanwhile while all of this was going on, Thyme was spending time with Finny and Batty. Finny had been left alone with Batty for about two hours and the mansion was _still_ all in one piece, something that Finny personally felt was a major accomplishment on his part. Actually, when Batty was by herself she was pretty well behaved. It was just that sometimes when Batty and Thyme were together they got into trouble, but when alone they were just fine… well, Batty was anyway.

The only reason Finny had been nervous was just that this was the first time he had been in charge for the first time in his life completely alone, except for Batty. Occasionally Ciel and Sebastian would be out of town by themselves for a few days and the other Phantomhive servants would be in charge of the estate. But Bard, Tanaka, and Maylene had always been with him then. The truth was, Finny hated to be alone. It reminded him too much of what life was like before he came to live with Sebastian and Ciel; before he had even met Thyme.

He had spent much of his life locked up in the lab. The people there had forced him into a cold cell painted entirely white yet at the same time seemed so dark. The only source of light had been a window that hung high up in his cell. He would be entirely by himself in there for hours on end, and was only let out when the doctors wanted him.

So that was why he spent as much time as he could with Batty. He had, as well as being nervous, also had felt very eager and excited at the prospect that people trusted him enough to take care of Batty. All afternoon he had played dolls with her, read her stories, and gave her piggy-back rides. Upon seeing finny, playing with her sister like that, Thyme had been ecstatic. She was so proud of Finny. But then again, she was always proud of Finny, but this time especially.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Thyme and Batty hugging Finny every chance they got. They played games and celebrated to their hearts' content.

"Excuse me, girls," Rosalind called and Batty, Thyme, and Finny all turned to look at her. "Could you come over her, please?" Then turning quickly to Finny, she asked," you don't mind if I borrow them for just a moment, do you?"

"Sure!" He replied, and waved goodbye at them as they went inside. Once inside, Rosalind whispered something to Thyme and Batty that made their eyes widen. Rosalind and thyme took out their Agency pocket watches, Batty held onto Rosalind, and a moment later they were gone.

Sebastian was serving tea on the porch to Ciel- Earl Grey- when a minute later they heard strange voices calling them. "_Ciel." _The voices came out of nowhere, causing Ciel and Sebastian to look up, trying to find the owner and location of the voice. _"Sebastian_. "The voices continued to call.Sebastian took out silverware he had kept in his pocket, prepared to attack at any moment. The voices then conveniently stopped, and then started up again. "If anyone is there," Sebastian warned, voice dangerously threatening. "Show yourselves." Silence fell once more. For a brief, yet ludicrously long period of time, nothing happened. Then,

"CIEL BABY!" Sebastian nearly threw his weaponry before realizing who the owners of the voices were. "SEBASTIAN HONEY!" Sebastian was almost regretting putting his silverware away upon hearing this. Thyme and Batty had just appeared out of _nowhere._

Gah!" Ciel exclaimed placing a hand placed over his heart. "Give me a heart attack why don't you!"

"We're from the future Ciel Baby, Sebastian Honey!" Thyme's voice was quick and unnaturally high.

"Oh, I bet." Ciel muttered and stared up at the sky.

Rosalind stepped out onto the porch and she was panting, as though she were out of air. "There- you- two- are!" She exclaimed, panting slightly. "I –pant-told- you- to –pant- appear in my- room. Not out here where people can see you!"

"Will someone please explain to me what the devil is going on?' Ciel growled irritated.

"Oh, we were just trying to scare you earlier!" Thyme explained, giggling. "We traveled in the time stream to the point where people can hear you but can't actually see you, and called out to Sebastian and Ciel! It was priceless!"

"I will talk to you about this later, but right now we have to access the current situation at hand. "

Rosalind's behavior was surprising Ciel and Sebastian. Something was going on, but what?

"What are you-"

"There's no time to explain!" Rosalind interrupted quickly.

"Quick, grab onto our tongues!"Thyme ordered and she and Batty stuck out their tongues.

Ciel took one long moment to stare at them before saying flatly," No."

"Look, just go get Finny and when you're back I need you three to tell me your clothing sizes. Don't give me that, just listen to what I say." Rosalind's voice was so urgent that Sebastian actually complied and brought Finny over there where they then proceeded to do what she asked. Rosalind then took out her pocket watch, turned around, and suddenly was gone. Before anyone could even ask where she had gone, she was back with three reusable bags in hand.

"Here," Rosalind tossed the bags to the guys. "Get changed into these." And with that being said, Rosalind, Thyme, and Batty left them to change.

Once Ciel, Finny, and Sebastian had changed into the clothes Rosalind had picked out for them, the girls appeared moments later, dressed in different clothes as well. Batty and Rosalind both had on more modern dresses, and Thyme had on a short-sleeved blouse and miniskirt with knee socks. Sebastian was wearing a more modernized butler suit, while Finny had on a t-shirt and jeans, while Ciel had on a short pants suit.

"Right then," Rosalind beamed upon approaching them. "I see you have all changed into your outfits, let us be off then. Everyone, grab onto either Thyme or myself."

Ciel, however, was not in the mood for being so obedient. "What is going on?" he demanded angrily. "Why do we have to be wearing this ridiculous clothing and where are we going? Answer me!"

"We," Rosalind replied as Finny hung onto Thyme." are going to the future. Now, take my arm if you don't want to get lost or possibly even severed in the time stream." Rosalind held out her hand that was not holding her pocket watch, which Sebastian took, Batty grabbed onto her skirt, and Ciel reluctantly grabbed hold of her elbow. A ray of light beamed out of the watch that caused Ciel to shut his eyes, and moments later they were gone.

When Ciel opened his eyes, he was in a place he had never seen before. There were buildings everywhere, but unlike any of the ones he remembered. Trucks and cars that he had never dreamt possible passed him by as he stood there on what appeared to be gray blocks that he would later learn was called a sidewalk. Thyme, Rosalind, Finny, Sebastian, and batty were with him as well. Finny and Sebastian looked just as amazed as he did.

"OMIGOD, IT'S BOB THE BUILDER!" That certainly shook everyone out of their train of thought.

"What?" Everyone stared at Thyme, who was pointing to an advertisement on the side of a bus.

"I said," Thyme repeated. "OMIGOD, IT'S BOB THE BUILDER! He's on that poster over there, on the side of that bus."

"Who or what is Bob the Builder?" Ciel wondered.

"Oh dear," Rosalind lowered her voice to a whisper so that only they could hear. "It appears we have landed in the wrong century." Rosalind then quickly pulled everyone away from where they were into a dark alleyway.

"What on Earth was that about?" Ciel demanded as he was pulled into the alleyway.

"We were starting to attract attention," Rosalind explained, looking around to make sure everyone was there and hidden from any onlookers nearby. "I was trying to land us in the 1940's, but it appears my watch has had a malfunction that has caused us to accidentally land in the 21'st century."

Catching the confused looks on Sebastian's, Ciel's, and Finny's faces, she went on." By watch, I mean, my _Agency_ watch. It allows me to travel through, back, forth, and in time." Rosalind added, upon noticing the still confused looks plastered across their faces.

Ciel had a couple of questions though. "Why did you have us change into these clothes?" he asked Rosalind. "Where did you get them, anyway? And why would we attracting attention be a bad thing?"

"I had you change clothes," Rosalind replied. "Because fashion during the 1940's is a lot different than it is-or rather, _was, _being as from where we are now, all that's in the past_- _during Victorian England. We would stand out too much if we came to the 1940's dressed as we did. I rented them from The Agency, by the way. The Agency actually keeps clothing on hand from different tie periods, being as people travel to different parts of time so often. "

"Also, in answer to your other question, it was absolutely necessary that I pulled us all back here before we attracted too much attention. As of now, we are currently in the 21'st century, wearing clothing from the 1940's. Fashion in the 21'st century differs from fashion in the '40's as much as the 40's fashion differs from that of the Victorian era. That, and Thyme freaking out over Bob the Builder wasn't exactly inconspicuous either. If I kept us out there for much longer, it could be bad for several reasons, but mainly this: It would, unquestionably, somehow be messing with the space time continuum; which, as a time traveler, is something you want to avoid doing as much as possible, unless that is your intent. "

"Terrible things have happened to people who have meddled with time." Rosalind went on, a grave look on her face." people have accidentally killed themselves or loved ones, by not thinking through their actions. At the risk of sounding clichéd, even the slightest action a time traveler from another time performs may alter the universe in ways you would never even imagine. That may sound cheesy or like an exaggeration, but it is undoubtedly true.

_You have to think carefully._ You need to think about how the inhabitants of where you are in time will react to your presence. And, just as importantly, how do you _want_ them to react. You also have to think about _why _you are here; are you here to have a good time, personal reasons, business reasons, or maybe purposely alter the time stream somehow? Regardless of whatever your purpose may be, you need to think about cause and effect, that's all. "Rosalind finished explaining.

Ciel had yet more questions, however. "Well, about what you were saying about purpose and cause and effect; why did you plan on bringing us to the future in the first place?"

"It's complicated," Rosalind sighed, rubbing her head. "I don't think I can really explain very well until we actually get there. It's the kind of thing you have to _see_ in order to understand, if you know what I mean."

Although Ciel did not know what Rosalind meant, a much more pressing matter was occurring to him. "How long did you say we were going to be stuck here again?" Ciel asked Rosalind.

Rosalind smiled grimly. "I didn't."

**Please review! Also, here is a preview for chapter 10: How long will the group be stuck in the 21'st century? Can they possibly make it through the entire chapter without killing each other? And what do scary children's shows and characters have to do with all of this? Please review to find out!**


	10. Invasion of the dolls

**Thanks again to those who have favorited, reviewed, or alerted, so much!*hands out 20 reviews celebration left overs* Note, the "dolls" used in this chapter are the ones used in episodes 10-12 of the anime. Being as the story is currently set around episode 4, Ciel would not recognize them. All of this will be explained shortly… Also, the "who the man?"Bit is a quote from Doctor Who.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or Doctor Who… and I definitely do not own any of the other TV shows or characters mentioned in this chapter… except for my OCs.**

Chapter 10:Invasion of the Dolls 

"_Dear mental diary,_

_We have been here for days, months, and maybe even years at this point; I have lost track of time. At times it feels like just yesterday we arrived. At others it feels like an eternity. Oh, how I yearn for all the sights, sounds, and smell of home! I do not know how much longer we can live like this; Rosalind tells us that we will escape from here soon, but to me it seems like one of us will soon befall into the clutches of death, and one by one we will all diminish… "_

"Thyme, we are _not_ going to die, and we have not been here anywhere _near_ that long!"

"Huh, what?" Thyme grumbled, opening her eyes. She found Rosalind looming over her, an expression of both concern and agitation plastered on her face.

"You were reading your mental diary you keep in your head out loud to the rest of us." Rosalind explained, catching the look of confusion on Thyme's face.

"I'm sorry," Thyme sighed, burying her face in her hands. "It's been four hours." Thyme whispered, eyes misting over.

"It's been ten minutes!" Rosalind exclaimed.

"WELL, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? CAN YOU ANSWER ME THAT, BUB? HUH, CAN YOU?"

Thyme had clearly been thrown over the edge. Rosalind considered telling her sister to _quiet down; you'll give us away,_ but for some reason decided against it upon seeing the rage her sister was in. 

Everyone stared at Thyme. "Again, my apologies." Thyme stated calmly, head bowed.

Silence followed this proclamation, then, "GASP!" Thyme jumped, completely startling everyone around her.

"Are you okay, Thyme?" Finny asked eyes wide with worry for his best friend.

"Oh, I'm all right," Thyme was now blushing profusely now. "Thanks, Finny. I was just thinking… when I was reading my mental diary aloud earlier, uh… I didn't read anything from… oh; I don't know… say, for instance: I didn't read anything aloud from page 394, did I?" Thyme crossed her fingers, silently praying she hadn't.

Finny put his head in his hands for a moment (A position that Thyme found rather cute, and she had to restrain herself from jumping all over him.) and thought about it. "Hmmm… I don't think so. Why do you ask?" Finny asked innocently, eyes full of wonder.

_So cute…_"Oh, no reason," Thyme said offhandedly, rubbing the back of her head, blush deepening, but at the same time breathing a mental sigh of relief in her head. Thyme had some particular entries in there that she was uncomfortable with a certain blonde-haired gardener seeing. ..

Ciel smirked. "You actually keep page numbers for a mental diary you have kept in your head?" He said.

"Shut up," Thyme muttered, looking away from him.

Five minutes had passed since then. Rosalind was inspecting her and Thyme's Agency watches, trying to solve the problem. Batty and Thyme had started to hum the theme songs to certain game shows before Rosalind had told them to please be quiet, for God's sake; she was trying to get them out of there, and needed complete silence in order to do so. In fairness to Rosalind, this had lasted a full fifteen seconds before Thyme was going mad with silence. Thyme was desperate for _something, anything_, to break the awkward silence. Therefore, she decided to say the first thing that popped into her head.

"Hey Rosalind, how come you don't let Batty and me watch Dora?"

Rosalind looked up at Thyme. "What?"

"I said," Thyme repeated, trying very hard to keep a straight face. "How come you don't let Batty and me watch Dora?"

"Look, I just don't think that girl is a good role model for you two to follow," Rosalind explained wearily. "I mean, she's only around Batty's age and she goes off on all of these adventures _by herself_; doesn't that seem like a bad idea to you? "

"She's not alone," Batty reminded Rosalind, joining in on the conversation. "She has Boots, the monkey, go along with her."

"Yes, well," Rosalind thought about this for a moment, then went on," I don't think that monkey is a good guardian for a little girl. I mean, they practically almost get _mugged_ by that fox in, like,_ every episode,_ and they never seem to learn not to trust him! What kind of message is that sending to the audience? "Oh sure kids, trust random people and talking animals who are obviously trying to rip you off/ rob you!"

"To make it worse, I don't think she even tells her parents where she's going. How would they react if they found out what she does when they're not looking? Moreover, that's _dangerous!_ What if something happened to her because she didn't tell her parents where she was going? If she does, then that is just bad parenting! I mean, do you _really_ think it's a good idea to let that little girl- your only daughter- to go off by herself and get into these kinds of situations, and actually be okay with it?"

"Her cousin Diego is even worse. He can't be much older than she is but he goes _hang gliding_ by himself in the rainforest!"

Batty and Thyme waited for this to sink in when a thought occurred to Thyme. "You don't let us watch Dora," She reminded Rosalind, a horrible memory making its presence known in her mind. "But you let us watch _Barney!"_

Rosalind rubbed her head wearily. "Thyme," she sighed. "We've been over this. I'm _sorry_ I exposed you to something so terrifying. Could you please drop it?"

Thyme, however, was ready to do no such thing. "The first time Batty and I watched it, we _screamed_ as soon as Barney came onto the screen! "

"_What is it with kids and Barney?"_ Rosalind silently wondered. _I mean, I don't get why kids think he's scary._ "You are scared of Barney," Rosalind mused, another thought occurring to her. "And yet you always insist that whenever I give you vitamins that I give you the ones shaped as dinosaurs. Why is that?"

"Because dinosaurs are cool! Duh! "Thyme explained, while batty nodded heartily in agreement.

Rosalind stared at Thyme in confusion, raising a perplexed eyebrow. "So now what you are trying to say is that you think a TV character you were scared of earlier is now suddenly cool…?"

"What? NO!" Thyme exclaimed, shaking her head and looking disgusted at Rosalind's question. "How could some dude wearing a purple dinosaur's suit possibly be cool? OF COURSE I DON'T THINK BARNEY IS COOL, YOU WEIRDO!"Thyme screamed, startling everyone in the alleyway.

"AND DON'T YOU THINK," Thyme screamed on. "THAT THE FACT THAT WE ARE ARGUING ABOUT CHILDREN'S SHOWS, IS COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS?"

A very awkward silence followed this, before realization hit Thyme, and she wailed," Oh, I was the one who brought it up, in the first place, wasn't I? WASN'T I?" and started to cry, while Finny went over to comfort her.

Rosalind sighed, placing a gentle had on Thyme's shoulder while Finny held her. "

Look, I said I was sorry and promise never to expose you two to that show ever again. I swear to God that my introducing you to that show definitely makes the top ten in terms of regrets and biggest mistakes I have made in this life. Now let us never speak of this again. Truce?"

"Truce," Thyme and Batty chorused in unison.

"Hey, Thyme," Finny said a while later, as Rosalind still continued to work on finding a means of escape.

Thyme's ears perked up at the sound of Finny's voice and she turned around to face him. "Yes, Finny?"

"Who are Barney and Dora?" he asked innocently. Everyone except for Thyme groaned. Even Ciel and Sebastian, who had no idea what they were talking about. They did not know, nor did they want to know.

Before Thyme could answer him, however Rosalind had excellent news for them all. "Okay, the watches are working again!" Rosalind announced, earning cheers from Thyme, Batty, and Finny.

"I KNOW, right!" Rosalind beamed, wholeheartedly agreeing with their euphoria. "I did it! I did it everyone, I DID it! WHO THE MAN?"

This last sentence only invoked very awkward and seriously disturbed glances in her direction, even from Sebastian and Ciel.

"Okay, I'm never saying that again." Rosalind decided, upon noticing the damage she had done. Rosalind and Thyme set up the watches, and this time, everyone held onto them without hesitation. Even Ciel and Sebastian; the sooner they were out of here, the better.

"All right then," came Rosalind's voice as the group took in their new surroundings. "We're here!" They were in a large room, with a large brown desk and three chairs pulled out in front. A broken tea cup lay shattered on the ground with tea spilling out of it, and newspaper headline clippings hung on the walls, as did various rewards and other certificates. However, upon closer observation, they were not alone in the room.

"Who do you have here?" A man's voice came from behind the desk. The group turned in his direction. "Where did you three leave five seconds ago, and how did you get back so quickly?"

"Dr. Framley," Rosalind began, pulling the boys to face him. "We went into the past to retrieve some people I wanted you to meet. This is Ciel Phantomhive, Finny, and Sebastian Michaelis. You lot, this is Dr. Howard Framley." Dr. Framley chewed on the end of his cigar, and held out his hand to shake, making no comment about Rosalind making no mention as to Finny's last name.

"A pleasure to meet you," he said gruffly as Finny cheerily shook his hand. Ciel and Sebastian, however, refused to do so.

"_Guys,_" Rosalind hissed in an undertone. "_Shake Dr. Framley's hand."_

"Do not worry about it, Miss Rosalind," Dr. Framley said chuckling. "I take it you have not told these young men why you have brought them here?"

"Indeed, sir." Rosalind replied.

"I thought so," laughed Framley. "I too, am wondering of your reaction before your brief and almost immediate departure. What was the cause of it?"

"That, sir." Rosalind replied, pointing to the other side of the room.

Everyone's heads turned in the direction of the room that Rosalind had been pointing at. The figure of a young girl stood looming in the darkness. She was carrying a tea tray, which judging by the direction it was pointing at, and how there was liquid on the tray, was where the cup had been before it broke. Her expression was emotionless, and there was a glazed, unnervingly calm and serene look in her eyes.

"Finny, do you recognize who or what this is?" Rosalind asked, pointing to the girl.

"Nope," he replied cheerily then stuck out his hand for the girl to shake. "Hiya, I'm Finnian!" When the girl did nothing in response, he dropped his hand.

Rosalind now turned to Sebastian. "What about you, Sebastian?" Sebastian was mildly surprised, but did not show it. "No."

"And you, Ciel?" Rosalind asked finally. "Do you recognize who this is, or notice anything out of the ordinary about her?"  
>"No," Ciel stated impatiently. "Why should I care? She's just some girl!"<p>

"Because," whispered Rosalind. "That's no ordinary girl. In fact, she's not even human."

Everyone stared at her. "What do you mean, she's not human?" said Ciel after a long pause.

"She's a doll." said Rosalind.

Dr. Framley laughed, surprising everyone. "Ah, so you recognize her," he said while chuckling. "That explains you reaction earlier. "He pointed to the shattered teacup that lay on the floor as he said this. "You were about to accept a cup of tea when you saw her and appeared to be so shocked that you actually dropped the cup. Then you just up and left. What was that about?"

"Sir," said Rosalind very quietly. "Why do you have a doll here? What is it doing and how long has it been here? How much do you know about this doll?"

"Come with me," said Dr. Framley. "I'd like to show you something."

Dr. Framley led them out of the room. The stepped out into a long winding, white hallway. Several people were in the halls, and the group understood at once why Rosalind insisted on them changing clothes to blend in.

"What is going on?" Ciel demanded of Rosalind as soon as they stepped outside. "Where are we? _When_ are we? And why did you bring us here?"

Rosalind decided now would be a good time to fill them in. "We are at a secret military base in England in the 1940's. It is currently World War II, England is now allies with America during the war. I brought you here to see if any of you recognized the doll besides us. "

"Rosalind," asked Thyme, who had been with Rosalind when she first set eyes upon the doll. "Why would any of us recognize the doll, or even know of its existence? "

Rosalind stared at Thyme in surprise. "Don't you remember- Well, surely they must have taught you in your history class- you mean to tell me that honest to goodness, you truly don't what this is?"

"Nope," answered Thyme. "Should I?"

"Yes, indeed you should!" Rosalind muttered a very thoughtful, yet frightened, look on her face. Dr. Framley then proceeded to open one of the doors in the hallway that led outside onto a grassy green hill. They walked further along until they reached an area where they could see people below the hill.

"This," said Dr. Framley, pointing below. "Is military practice."

On the field below them were men wearing British army uniforms, however, alongside them were also-

"Children!" Rosalind gasped wildly, hand held over her heart. "You're using _children_!"

"Miss Rosalind," said Dr. Framley in a soothing voice. "We are _not_ using children. Those people, although being as we are a bit far way I understand it may be a little hard to tell, are _dolls_. "

"And why, pray tell, do you have them here?" Rosalind asked, taking deep breaths to calm down from her thankfully mistaken assumption.

Dr. Framley beamed at her, evidently eager that she had asked. "Watch."

The dolls below were placed on two separate sides, though they all adorned the same uniforms. Dolls of all genders, ages, and races were aligned on each side. Many, but not all, were armed with weapons. A man, who Dr. Framley told them was not a doll, instructed," Let the battle begin!" and a gunshot rang out. The dolls with weapons fired and attacked, but often when they hit someone, something amazing happened: _The doll that was hit would get up again, almost good as new._

That was not the only incredible thing about them, though. The dolls without weapons did not need them. They threw punches and seemed to attack with enhanced strength. They also proved to be flexible in the extreme, such as being able to turn their heads a full 180 degrees, and performing acrobatics in their attack that could seriously sprain a normal human, but did not seem to have any negative physical effect at all on them. Some of them appeared to possess the ability to somehow control their comrades' movements. They would passion themselves and seemed to act on another doll's orders. It was, in a word, truly terrifying. And fascinating.

Ciel, the girls, and Finny, all watched on in horror. Sebastian and Dr. Framley were looking at the scene before them too, but they did not seem to be too upset by it. On the contrary, both merely looked observant.

Thyme, however, felt very differently. Eyes wide, she was suddenly not with them anymore. Instead, her soul was back in a cold, dark, dark, room, with screams reverberating off the walls.

"_NO!" came the scream of a girl, truly terrified. "STOP! PLEASE!" She was being forced down onto a hard brown table, by men in white lab coats. _

"_Quiet, girl," They snarled, filling a bottle with a dark red liquid. "Stop struggling or else what your friend will go through will be nothing compared to this!"_

"_No," she begged, eyes pleading. "NOT FINNY!" The next thing she knew, a needle was administered into her forearm, and screams reverberated off the walls once more._

Finny stood there, horror struck. He too was having horrible flashbacks…

"_Don't worry, Finny," A girl whispered to her crying strawberry-blonde haired companion. "I'll be okay." _

"_But-"the boy sobbed, voice cracking. "I don't want to lose you, too!" _

"_Shh," she muttered, holding him close to her. "It will all be all right." The door to the cell then burst open. A pair of firm hands grabbed the pair of them, but they were each sent down opposite directions of the hallway._

"_THYME!"Finny screamed as he was forced away from her. _

"_FINNY!" She screamed back at him. Thyme disappeared from sight, kicking and screaming, as Finny too did the same but to no avail._

"_Let me go!" begged Finny, as he was taken into a room with very little light and absolutely no chance of kind treatment to be expected. _

_One of them men slapped him across the face. Hard. _

"_Shut up," he hissed as his accomplices tried to hold Finny down. "How dare you try to get away from us! How dare you contradict me! Now shut up and hold still boy, or you will get off with more than just a couple of scrapes and bruises. You exist solely for us. You have no other purpose in this world. So stop whining and do as you're told! You cannot ever leave; where else can you go? Be _grateful_ that we have taken you in, because nobody else would ever want or need you. "_

_A sharp needle was ejected into Finny's body and a scream of agony escaped his lips. Truly, this form of torture was most definitely a fate worse than death._

"But I know different now," Finny whispered, half of him at the current scene, the other half still back at the lab. "I _know_ that I am wanted and needed. I believe that. I _have_ to believe that. Because there is one person- even if it's ever only one person- who likes and accepts me for whom I am. Because that one, is not zero. "

Finny then stared at Thyme, who was too shocked to speak, or even move. His attention then turned to the dolls hurting each other. "Stop this." he said quietly, but everyone could hear his words. "STOP THIS NOW!" He screamed and took off towards the battle field before anyone could stop them. Thyme's eyes snapped open as she realized what Finny was doing. "FINNY!" She screamed as he took off. A rising feeling of horror spread through her body; what if finny got hurt? Thyme did the only thing she could think of: she ran after him.

"Stop the practice!" Rosalind shrieked to Dr. Framley, realizing where Finny and Thyme were running to. "There are people running out onto the battle field! Howard Framley, you stop the attack this instance!" Dr. Framley didn't need telling twice. He took out a music box that started playing a tune that sounded suspiciously like "London Bridge is Falling Down," and the dolls stopped moving almost instantly. "Oh my God," Rosalind breathed and ran onto the field after Thyme and Finny.

Thyme had tackled Finny into a tackle just seconds before he would have made it into the midst of the battle. Their breathing caught into their throats, as both realized how close they had been to being killed.

"THYME!" Rosalind's voice echoed across the field, and when Thyme and Finny turned their heads they could see that Rosalind, along with everyone else, was running towards them. "FINNY!" Rosalind ran faster than she ever had before in her entire life. She came up to them, panting heavily and clutching her side. "Oh, thank God," Rosalind muttered as she embraced Thyme. "Oh, thank God, you two are okay!

Rosalind then hurriedly inspected Thyme's body for any injuries and was relieved to find none.

"Oh, thank God," Rosalind repeated for the third time that day under her breath. "Sweetheart, are you okay?" Rosalind asked Thyme, silently praying for the answer to be affirmative.

"Uh, yeah, I think I am." Thyme replied, slightly shaken. "You okay, too, Finny?" Thyme then asked turning to Finny.

"Yep!" Finny replied, checking himself over.

Batty started to cry. "We thought you two were- were-"

"Were what, Batty?" Thyme asked gently.

"D-dead!" Batty chocked out, sobbing harder than ever.

"Don't worry, Princess, "Thyme assured her, tousling Batty's curls playfully, and attempted to grin as she flashed Batty a peace sign. "It's all good."

"No, it is most certainly _not_ "all good." Rosalind had stopped hyperventilating, and had gotten her ability to breathe back, as well as her temper. "Do you really think what could have just happened is okay? No, it's anything _but_ okay."

Rosalind rounded on Dr. Framley now. "You tell me what's going on. _Now_. I am clever and don't patronize me because my sister and her friend could have just died right now, and I am not happy."

"Very well then," said Dr. Framley quickly. He could tell that now would not be a good time to argue. "As you can see we are using dolls in our army. They make excellent soldiers, possessing the abilities of enhanced strength, endurance, and flexibility, and some even possess these strings that appear to be able to control their comrades. They are great out on the field, and what you have witnessed just now was their version of military practice. They are good at other tasks as well. They also make excellent helpers around the base, such as the doll back in my office.

As you may have noticed, they seem to be controlled by the song, "London Bridge is falling down." They make perfect additions to the base. "

"How did you come across finding them?" Rosalind asked quietly, trying to keep her anger at bay.

Dr. Framley frowned, a look of deep confusion crossing his features. "I am afraid I do not understand."

Rosalind looked extremely impatient. "What I mean is did you create them? Did someone ship them over to you? Or did they get here by some other means?"

Dr. Framley looked more puzzled still. "I do not see how or why that should be any of your business, Miss Rosemary. This doesn't concern you."

Rosalind lost it then and there. "Why won't you tell me? You don't remember, do you? _Don't lie to me!_"

Rosalind then turned to Sebastian and said in a dangerous tone of voice. "Sebastian, please cover the children's ears. I do not know if I can refrain from using some less than pleasant language. "Batty and Finny instantly put their hands over their ears, while Sebastian used his hands to cover Thyme's, though Ciel did nothing.

"Why are you using dolls that take on the appearance of children in your military? What do you plan on doing with them?" Rosalind demanded.

"As you can see," Dr. Framley began before seeing the murderous look on Rosalind's face. "Um, we are using them as soldiers. For some reason, the majority of dolls we possess appear to be the dolls of young girls. We decided to use this to our advantage. No one is going to expect to see children on the field during battle. We figure this will give us the element of surprise, and some soldiers may even refuse to attack them, making victory all the more easier. We haven't actually sent them into any major battles yet, but we plan on doing so. If all goes well, we will ship them over to America. Why, using them, we just may win the war."

Rosalind looked scandalized. "_What a dirty trick!"_ She hissed, disgust filling her very being.

"This is war, Miss Rosalind." Dr. Framley stated calmly.

"I do not care that this is war," Rosalind replied, so furious she was shaking. "Do the people even know what you are doing?"

"Not yet," answered Dr. Framley. "But as soon as they are out on the battlefield, we will tell the public. Just not now."

"What you are doing is socially, politically, and morally wrong!"

Thyme and Batty stared at each other anxiously. Never had they seen their sister so angry before. Even Ciel and Sebastian had not expected this of her.

Rosalind continued on with her rant. "Not only is what you are doing just plain wrong, and quite possibly illegal in some way, it is sheer stupidity. You do not even recall how you acquired theses dolls, yet you wish to use them. Have you ever considered the possibility that someone else may be controlling them, or you? You can't go on like this! If not for other people's safety and well being, than for your own. "

Dr. Framley, however, seemed to be thinking differently on the matter. "I am afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave." he said coolly. "You may go now, or be carried out by security. The choice is yours."

Rosalind gave one last final glare at him before turning to the others, and saying" Come on, guys. Let's go. "

"Actually, I think it might be pretty cool to be carried out-"Thyme began but fell silent at the look on Rosalind's face. Even she did not dare to try to annoy her sister today.

Before they left, however, Rosalind turned to look at Dr. Framley. Not glare at, simply look at. "I shall leave now, but Dr. Framley, remember what I have said: Those dolls may seem useful now, but are they truly yours? Consider the fact that if they turn against you and endanger the lives of others, you will be remembered for it. Think about it."

And with that being said Rosalind pulled out her pocket watch and the group arrived home.


	11. The horrors of finishing school

**Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, alerted, or read this far!*hands out cyber cookies***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler, Hermione Granger, Elizabeth Bennett, Jane Eyre, or any of the other characters mentioned in this chapter except for my OCs. **

Chapter 11: The horrors of finishing school

When the group arrived home, a pressing thought suddenly occurred to Sebastian. "Miss Rosemary," Sebastian asked tentatively towards Rosalind, who was still fuming. "How much do you know about those dolls? Moreover, _how_ do you know about them? Most importantly, how long have we been gone anyway?"

"We have been gone for over a century," said Rosalind. "If you count our accidental landing in the 21st century, I mean. However, I have taken us back in time to a point where we would only have been gone for a couple of minutes."

Sebastian was very relieved about this. He had been afraid of being late with the dinner preparations.

"In answer to your other questions," Rosalind went on. "I do not know much about the dolls. I will try to learn more about them however. But I still know, realize, and can infer more than those idiots back at the base."

She did not, however, Sebastian noticed, answer his question of how she found out about them in the first place. He considered repeating the question, but decided that he needed to get dinner on the way first. Perhaps he would ask her later, though.

Dinner was a very quiet affair indeed. They could not openly discuss their time traveling adventures in front of Lau and Madame Red, who were oblivious to its existence. Very little talking was done on their behalf, and dinner ended rather quickly. After dinner and dessert, Rosalind decided it was time for Batty to get ready for bed.

It had been a very long day for the little girl; it was her first day on vacation, and almost as soon as she had arrived at the house, she had found that two strangers had ransacked it and she was then left alone in the house with a boy who it was a miracle had not accidentally destroyed it with his super strength- although Batty and Finny did have quite a lot of fun together. He had given her piggyback rides whenever she asked for one, he had played with all her dolls and stuffed animals with her, and he had helped her unpack everything.

Still though, she had been put through one wild and fear inducing afternoon. She had landed in some unknown place and was not allowed to leave the dark alley they had landed in. Worse still, she thought she may have seen a tarantula somewhere- although it turned out to be just a shadow. Batty was deathly afraid of the dark and certain kinds of spiders, so the idea of the two combined was quite traumatizing for her. However, that was nothing compared to what could have happened to Thyme and Finny when they had landed in World War II.

Batty had never been so frightened in all her life. What if something happened to them? But they were safe, thank goodness. Those dolls at the base though, really creeped her out. Even Rosy had been scared… that must mean those dolls at the base were dangerous. She suddenly wondered if her own dolls were safe. Maybe they were dangerous to!

"Rosalind?" Batty asked. Right now the two were in the bathroom, and Rosalind had insisted on Batty taking a bubble bath. Rosalind knew that Batty liked taking baths, and had figured that maybe taking one would make her feel better after the day's events. Rosalind had to help Batty though, being as Batty did not know how to turn the water on and off, and due to the tub being so big and Batty so small, Rosalind was quite worried that her sister would drown if not attended.

"Yes?" said Rosalind, who was sitting on a stool next to the tub, making sure that Batty did not drown.

"Are my dolls safe?" Batty asked worriedly.

Rosalind blinked at her. "Whatever do you mean by that?"

"Are they dangerous?" Batty whimpered. "Like the ones at the base? Are we going to have to take my toys away?"

"Honey," Rosalind laughed. "I'm sure your dolls are perfectly fine." _Although just to be safe, maybe I should take a good look at her dolls some time._ Rosalind decided not to voice this thought out loud though, being as her sister seemed upset enough as it was.

Rosalind turned off the water while Batty sat in the tub, which was probably big enough for the little girl to actually swim laps in. Deciding to break the sullen atmosphere, Rosalind reached into the tub and splashed some bubbles in her sister's direction. Batty giggled and shrieked, and then proceeded to splash Rosalind back as well. After their splash fight was over, Rosalind helped Batty out of the tub, and wrapped her in a towel. Rosalind leaned over the tub to let the water go down the drain. When she turned around, she found her sister crying.

"Batty!" Rosalind gasped, leaning down so that they could be eye level. "What's wrong, Honey?"

"I-I thought they were going to die!" Batty sobbed.

"Oh, honey," Rosalind murmured, giving her sister a hug as she sobbed into her soldier. "That's never going to happen. I will _never_ let that happen. I got Dr. Framley to call off the attack just in time. You and Thyme are both safe now. Don't be scared, Batty; I am here for you, you don't need to worry so much. Take deep breaths now. Just breathe. Take the weight off your shoulders, and put it on me. I will do all the worrying for the both of us. I can take it. Right now, just focus on having fun and being yourself. You're going to be fine. "

"Okay," Batty whispered, still sniffling, but feeling better now.

"Good," Rosalind soothed, patting her head. "Now let's get you changed into your nightdress and brush your teeth and hair. "

The bathroom was connected to Batty's bedroom, so the girls went inside the bedroom through the connecting doors. Rosalind ran a brush through Batty's curls after towel drying her hair and Batty got changed. After Batty was all ready, Rosalind tucked her into bed, and read her a fairy tale.

Every night before bed, either Rosalind or Thyme would usually read Batty a story. Batty had a fondness for fairy tales in particular, and both her sisters would happily oblige to reading them to her. Rosalind was currently teaching Batty to read, and often times when she would read to her, she would have Batty read alongside her to learn new words. Another habit that often ensued when the two read stories together was Rosalind trying to point out the morals and lessons the stories taught, as well as all the things the characters _should_ have done, and all the inaccuracies and lessons the stories _should_ have taught, but did not.

One of Rosalind's favorite discussion topics was the discriminating view on female characters. In Rosalind's opinion, there really needed to be more Elizabeth Bennetts, Jane Eyres, and Hermione Grangers out there in the media rather than dim-witted damsels in distress. Heroines who were strong and smart, and could actually stand up for and take care of themselves.

Tonight, however Rosalind only read the story aloud to her sister. Both of them were too tired to talk much tonight, so Rosalind didn't bother pointing out new words to Batty or discussing the messages behind the story. When she finished reading she kissed her sister forehead, and was about to leave when Batty stopped her. "Rosalind," Batty tugged on her sister's hand to prevent her from leaving. "Stay here with me until I fall asleep, 'kay?"

"Okay," Rosalind agreed and did not let go of her sister's hand until she was fast asleep.

"So Sebastian, how long have you been listening outside the door?"

Sebastian stepped away from the door as Rosalind turned to face him. He decided the best approach would be to act clueless. "I am afraid I do not know what you are talking about, Miss Rosemary."

"Oh, don't play dumb with me," said Rosalind with an exasperated sigh. "Because I hate when clever people feel the need to dumb themselves down a bit, because it really is such a waste of intelligence and opportunity. You do not strike me as a fool, Sebastian. Now, please tell me what I would like to know."

"Very well then," Sebastian decided to oblige, he knew how stubbornly persistent Rosalind could be about finding out information she felt entitled to know. "I have been listening since your younger sister started crying."  
>" Oh? And why, pray tell were you listening?" asked Rosalind, folding her arms across her chest. "I believe I have a right to know."<p>

Sebastian frowned, but answered her. "I was merely passing by when I heard the younger Miss Rosemary sobbing. As a butler, it would be improper of me to have intruded at the time, but I felt it necessary to know what was happening. That is all."

"No it's not." replied Rosalind. Sebastian smirked. Evidently he could not pull the wool over _her_ eyes.

"If that were completely true," Rosalind went on. "You would have stopped listening as soon as you heard that everything was all right. While I do believe your claims of wondering what was going on to be true, I am certain that you _also_ have an ulterior motive that you are not telling me. I have a right to know what that motive may be. So tell me. Also, keep in mind that even if you don't, then I will hound you until the information I am looking for is given. Think over your choices and the consequences that may come with it."

Sebastian decided that there was no harm in telling her. "I was listening to see if you would divulge any more knowledge of the dolls and how you know about them."

"Well Sebastian," said Rosalind." That really is none of your business. I will have you know that eavesdropping on other peoples' conversations is quite rude and an invasion of privacy. You may be interested to know that in some cases eavesdropping can even count as being illegal. Not only that, what you just did was just plain creepy. Not to mention stalkerish. Regardless of whatever your intentions were, it was wrong of you to do that. "

As a Phantomhive butler, the only thing Sebastian could do was apologize. "My apologies, Miss Rosemary." He said with a deep bow.

"It's okay," said Rosalind. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Yes, Miss Rosemary. Would that be all? " Sebastian only included this last part being as any and all of the Phantomhive servants had to make good impressions upon the young master's guests and colleagues. It seemed only fitting he added this last part in.

"Actually Sebastian," a thoughtful expression had come across Rosalind's features. "There is one thing I would appreciate you to do."

"Oh?" Sebastian asked, trying to look bored, but secretly curious as to what Rosalind was going to say. He had not expected her to request anything. "And what would that be?"

"Sebastian," Rosalind had suddenly become very serious. "Would you be so kind as to check on Finny tonight before he goes to bed?"

"I am afraid that I do not understand what you mean, Miss Rosemary." Sebastian had not expected her to say that.

"Thyme asked me to tell you this," Rosalind began to explain. "Today when we were at the base, according to Thyme he had been having … flashbacks. Thyme wants you to make sure he is okay. Thyme herself seemed to be disturbed by everything that had happened today, and she wanted to make sure that Finny was okay. "

"I will do that, Miss Rosemary," said Sebastian. "But I fail to see any reason why either of them should not be normal… or as close to normal as they ever are."

It was as if a thousand firecrackers had all gone off at once. "You fail to see…" Rosalind looked shocked and appalled at what he had just said.

"Sebastian, how can you not see what an experience like that can do to a person?" Rosalind whispered, looking him straight in the eye. "Or do you not know…?"

"I know," Sebastian replied, realizing what Rosalind was asking. "I was there when Finny came to the manor, and he already told me about your sister. "

"_And still you do not understand why they are upset?" _Rosalind could not believe it. She had been hoping that he had been ignorant of what they had gone through, and that's why he was so unsympathetic right now towards them, because he didn't know, but evidently that was not the case. Rosalind knew that Sebastian was a demon, but still…

"Sebastian," if he could not understand their pain, then she was going to teach him. "As soon as I found out what had happened to Thyme, I vowed to get her out of that awful place. And did. I was in a rage."

"Once I had saved her- and literally, it is no exaggeration to say saved in this case, because I do not believe that she could have survived in those conditions much longer than she already did- she told me that it was a miracle, like being born again. However, though she is fine most of the time, there is pain behind that mischievous smile and playful laughter. She is not putting up any acts or facades, but every once in a while, the memories come flooding back to her. You cannot possibly expect an experience like that to let a person come out completely unscathed."

"She reacts negatively at signs of violence, abuse, and torture: She has experienced all three. She has nightmares about being back at the lab sometimes. Still, ever since she reunited with Finny, none of these nightmares or flashbacks has happened again, until now. Those dolls were put into combat and were literally forced to attack each other without a say in the matter. It is completely barbaric and reminded her of life in the lab. Judging by Finny's reaction, I'd say it affected him in the same way."

"Have you ever bothered to pay attention to him Sebastian, beside from when he does something wrong? I am certain that parts of him are still traumatized by his past, like Thyme. Have you ever wondered if he's really okay, or tried talking to him? Even took the time to get to know him? Thyme says that he admires and respects you a lot. In fact; he even wants to be like you. I am not saying that you have to become friends with him or anything; I am just suggesting that you may want to go see if he is all right. I am sure that he would be more than happy if you would just check up on him."

Sebastian would not say it out loud, but as her words raced through his head, he realized that every single thing that Rosalind had just said was absolutely true. And he should have realized it sooner. After all, as the butler of Ciel Phantomhive, it may be useful to know and understand these things.

"As you wish Miss Rosemary."

"Oh, I've told you you don't have to call me that." Rosalind reminded him.

"Yes, Miss Rosemary." he teased.

Rosalind scowled than laughed. "Good night Sebastian."

"Good night Miss Rosemary."

After breakfast the next morning, Ciel, Thyme, Rosalind, Sebastian, Grell, Lau, and Madame Red all discussed how they were going to solve the case. Meanwhile Finny and Batty were playing outside.

"We should learn more about this Viscount Druitt character," Rosalind suggested. "What do we know about him already?"

"I managed to find out some information about him," Sebastian replied. "He attended medical school, but has never become a doctor or otherwise engaged in his profession. He is known for his interest in black magic and has a love for food and the arts. Rumor has it that the Viscount has a strong attraction and fondness for girls and women; it is said that he cannot resist any sweet thing wearing a skirt."

Upon hearing this part, a light bulb seemed to go on in Madame Red's head. "If that is the case, then we should use this to our advantage. A lady would be able to get his attention and would be able to get him to take her to where the victims are. "As she spoke, she was looking straight at Ciel. A horrible thought occurred to Ciel. "You are not implying-"

Madame Red nodded. "Indeed I am."

"You can't be serious." said Ciel, looking horrified.

"Would someone please explain to me what you two are talking about?" Thyme asked, unable to handle the suspense.

Rosalind, however, realized what they were talking about right away. "No," she said firmly. "I am sorry, but I am with Ciel on this. I do not think that would be a very good idea if you are implying what I believe you are. I do not believe it would be very safe."

"If you would feel like explaining sometime today," Thyme began, getting slightly annoyed.

Rosalind glared at her. "There is no need to be so rude Thyme, I will explain momentarily. But first, I need to check the rules list. I am sure that there is at least one rule about being rude out of the 150 that are on there…"

"150!" Thyme shrieked. "Last time there were only 110 on there!"

"I added an extra forty last night." Rosalind explained." But I'll talk to you about that later. As I was saying earlier, what I believe Madame Red was suggesting was that Ciel masquerade as a girl and attract Viscount Druitt's attention to find out if he is behind all this."

"BWAHAHAHA!" Thyme was literally rolling on the floor laughing at this. "Him- as a- g-girl! Oh, that's funny! Oh, God, that's funny! I love it!" said Thyme, once she had calmed down. "I think we should go with it! Brilliant! Absolutely 100% perfect! Nothing can go wrong!"

"I disagree that it's _completely_ perfect." said Rosalind. "What I have a problem with is this: Viscount Druitt claims to have a love for all women and girls, yet the entire Jack the Ripper victims have all been thus far, women. I have not met him, but I believe it is safe to say that this man is completely insane. There may be something seriously wrong with him. Think about it: is it_ really _the best or safest idea to have Ciel masquerade as a girl to attract this person's attention when the guy is obviously messed up in the head?"

"For all we know, _Ciel_ could be the next victim if we're not careful. Also, am I the only one who finds it disturbing that Viscount Druitt is interested in girls Ciel's age, when he is… whatever age he is? I personally do not like the idea playing on this fact. I understand the thought behind it, and I admit that in theory it's a good idea, but I do not know how well it would be if put into practice. I just think it may prove to be too dangerous. I appreciate the the thought behind it," Rosalind turned to Madame Red as she said this, not wanting to hurt her feelings. "But in my opinion, I think it may be better if we went with another idea, or that if we went with this one, someone else try to get Viscount Druitt's attention."

Ciel was personally very relieved, until Madame Red spoke again. "I think that the only way this could work would be for someone to get the viscount's attention and find out what he does to them. The victims, I mean. The reason I say Ciel is because it would be suspicious if the Queen's Watch Dog were to arrive as himself, and the viscount would be a lot more cautious. Also, it would be safer because Ciel has Sebastian to go get him before he's put into any serious trouble. Besides, I always wanted a cute little girl who would wear all sorts of frilly dresses that I would pick out for her!"

They took a vote: and thus it was decided 5-2 (Rosalind had still not given in after hearing Madame Red's argument and Ciel had been against the idea from the start) that Ciel would dress up as a girl to get into Viscount Druitt's party. As everyone got up to go about their separate ways, a pressing thought occurred to Rosalind. "Thyme, I don't think you should go to the party."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Thyme knew there would be no use in arguing." Being as this guy is obsessed with girls, and by obsessed I mean killing them, I agree with you."

"I will go, however," said Rosalind. "But only because I think one of us needs to be there."

"Miss Rosemary, that reminds me." The voice came out of nowhere, causing Rosalind and Thyme to jump. "GAH!"

Sebastian ignored their reactions and went on." do you know how to dance?"

"Well, um," Rosalind muttered something incomprehensible under her breath.

"Sorry?"

Rosalind stared at the ground, but repeated herself. "I do technically know how, but I have had bad experience…"

"What do you mean-"

"Face like that should come with a warning!" Thyme had evidently still not gotten over the shock of Sebastian sneaking up on them.

Rosalind and Sebastian both glared at Thyme. "Will that be all?"

"Hmmm… Nope, not quite." Thyme mused and continued to scream for a few more minutes before ceasing.

Rosalind had tried to sneak way as Thyme freaked out, but Sebastian caught her midway. Rosalind could tell she was fighting a losing battle here, so she said," Fine, I have learned how to dance, it is true, but I never quite mastered any of the techniques. But really, what does it matter? I understand that it is a ball, but no one can _force_ me to dance if I don't want to. Besides, dancing the night away with some man I do not even know won't do anything to help with the case. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some, uh, things I need to take care of…"

"Yes, but it will look awfully stand-offish and anti-social of you if you don't dance," Sebastian tried to persuade. "Think about your reputation." Sebastian said this being as he had learned that many humans seemed to care a lot about what others think of them.

"How would something as trivial as that damage my reputation?" said Rosalind. "I am sure I would not be the only one not dancing anyway. And if some people are ridiculous to make a big fuss over that, that is their problem, not mine. Why would I want to care what people like that think of me?"

"I have learned over the years that you will never get very far in life if you only ever care about what other people think of you. People who never pushed boundaries if they felt something was wrong, who always tried to blend into society, never stood for what they believed in, and only went along with what the rest of the crowd was doing seldom did make history, after all." Rosalind concluded.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, unable to help but be, maybe only a little bit, just a little bit, impressed. However, he knew that it would still attract attention if Rosalind just stood around doing nothing all evening. "I understand your reasoning," Sebastian said slowly." And as a demon who has observed humans for quite a while now, I cannot say you are incorrect, however it may cause people to become suspicious of our real motives for being there. If not for your sake, for the sake of the case. Think of how fewer people will be killed if we manage to catch the killer."

He knew that had got to Rosalind. If there was one thing he had noticed over the past weeks about Rosalind it was this; she was a very moral and compassionate person. A _kind_ person. She was by no means perfect, but he knew that he could use her kindness to his young master's advantage. The thought of innocent people dying was sure to trigger off Rosalind's commitment to solving the case, and sure enough he was right.

"Well," Rosalind said slowly. "I suppose I could try dancing a couple of times to avoid attracting any unwanted attention that could be to our disadvantage…"

Sebastian could tell that Rosalind was still hesitant though. He decided to sweeten the deal. "If it makes you feel more comfortable, I can give you some dancing lessons. I was planning on practicing with my young master anyway, so you could join as well."

"Okay," Rosalind gave in, and thus Rosalind and Ciel's week of torture had only just begun.

By the end of the day, Sebastian had reached a new conclusion about Rosalind. She was not nearly as bad as he expected her to be; she was far worse. She was poorer at dancing than even Ciel was, and that was saying something. He had lost track of how many times she had stepped on his toes after 30. "Sorry!" Rosalind would mumble and at first he had taken her many footfalls in stride, but after a while became quite annoyed.

Then, there was how many unfortunate objects had been broken when Rosalind had spun out of control or moved to close to them. He had to stop several times to make sure she was not injured, and though she never was, it was quite a pain to clean them up and put them away so no one would get injured. Rosalind insisted on paying for everything that she had broke in the process of her dangerous dancing. Personally, Rosalind felt it would be a miracle if she did not end up broke by the end of the week at this rate.

Sebastian knew that, being the demonic butler that he was, he could probably fix all the objects that he had broke, decided not to tell Rosalind until the end that he could fix everything. He decided to do this to keep her worried during the lesson as payback for putting him through so much trouble. He had also been hoping that this would be a good way to help her improve, but it did just the opposite.

Rosalind also had a problem with how close she was supposed to be to the demon/butler/ dancing instructor. She would always either be much too far away from him, or too close for comfort. Also, several times during their lesson, Rosalind had actually managed to fall on top of him. "Oh!" Rosalind blushed, as she realized what had just happened and jumped off off of him right way. "I am _so_ sorry! Are you all right? I didn't injure you did I?"

Sebastian sighed, wanting very much so to give her a good talking to, but refrained from doing so with great effort. Instead he merely got up off the floor and brushed himself off. "Let's try again, shall we?"

By the end of the lesson though, his patience was wearing thin. "Are you quite sure you have had _any_ experience with dancing, Miss Rosemary?" he snapped as Rosalind broke another object for the umpteenth time. "Are you sure that you even know what the term means?"

Rosalind as irritated as he was. " Yes, I have!" Rosalind snapped back at him. " I know very well what the term means, and I have had several dancing instructors in the past, I'll have you know. I understand that you are annoyed, but I am trying the best I can. I will not work with you if you are disrespectful towards me, understand? We have to _both_ agree to respect each other. Understand?"

Sebastian nodded, knowing that all this was for the case, and Ciel had ordered to let him teach Rosalind, so he would have to follow that order to the end. To the _very_ bitter end. "Well, I think we should call it a day. "Rosalind said trying to diffuse the tension. "What say you?"

"Agreed." he murmured and this was the pattern over the next several days leading up to the ball.

As well as teaching Rosalind- who had gotten no better at how to dance- Sebastian also had to teach Ciel how to be a proper young lady to disguise himself for the ball. And so it was that one afternoon Sebastian found himself dressing his young master into female clothing. And having some trouble in doing so.

"Ah,ah,ah, SEBASTIAN!" Pained sounds were coming out of Ciel's mouth, unable to believe the tremendous pain he was in.

"Come; put your hands up against the wall. Relax a little."

"N- No more! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I THINK MY GUTS ARE ABOUT TO COME OUT!"

"Young master, no woman on record as ever had her organs come out due to a corset." Sebastian said, trying to calm down his seriously disturbed and pained young master.

Right as he said that, Thyme walked into the room. A _very_ awkward silence followed this. Thyme then proceeded to make a noise that sounded like the noise a fish may make if it were out of water; a sort of dry scream caught in her throat. Her jaw dropped and her eyes bulged.

"I'm getting Rosalind!" She yelled and evacuated the room.

Moments later, Thyme dragged Rosalind into the room, where Sebastian was still trying to force Ciel into wearing a corset. He then noticed that the mark on Ciel's back was showing, and hastily covered it up with his hand. The girls could not see what that amrk meant, or else they might get suspicious.

"What are you DOING?" She demanded of Sebastian, rushing over and pushed him out of the way.

Sebastian was surprised by the expressions of both horror and disgust plastered on Rosalind and Thyme's faces. "I am merely putting my young master into a corset. What on Earth could possibly be wrong with that?"

"Dude, do you even know how messed up that sentence is?" Thyme said, shaking her head in disgust.

Before Sebastian even had time to ask what a "dude" was, Ciel was yelling," SEBASTIAN! I _REALLY_ THINK MY ORGANS ARE ABOUT TO COME OUT!"

"Young Master, as I told you before, no lady has ever been recorded to have had her organs come out to to a corset." Sebastian sighed.

"Uh, actually that's not entirely true." Rosalind said, and Sebastian suddenly stopped trying to tighten Ciel's corset.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"When I went to finishing school, one girl literally had her organs come out." Rosalind said quietly.

"What school did you go to?" Sebastian wondered. "I highly doubt that is common in most finishing schools?"

"Actually," Rosalind was suddenly very grave. "It is, or at least at my school. You would think that after that they would stop trying to get girls to wear insanely tight corsets, but they still insisted on us doing so."

"Surely this reached the media?" Sebastian was suddenly considering not having his master wear said garment if that was what it did.

"No, it was all hushed up." Rosalind replied seriously. "On my first day I wore one like that and I passed out in the middle of the cafeteria from a lack of oxygen. None of my guts spilled out though, but it was definitely not an experience I would ever like to repeat. After that I never bothered wearing one ever again. "

"I don't wear one either!" Thyme piped up.

"That- is- too- much- information!" said Ciel as he gasped for air, corset still on, his face as red as a tomato.

"What?" Thyme said defensively as Rosalind, Sebastian, and Ciel all stared at her. "It's not like I announced that I didn't have any underwear on or anything! I don't wear a corset, but instead I do wear a-"

Thankfully at this moment Rosalind elbowed Thyme to stop talking. "TMI Thyme," she muttered. "TMI!"

"What was that for?" asked Thyme, pretending that the blow had hurt quite terribly when in reality it hadn't hurt at all due to Rosalind's lack of physical brawn and Thyme's super strength.

"You wear one too-"

"Thyme, how many times have I told you not to talk about my underwear in public!" Hissed an angry Rosalind, face turning beet red.

"TMI?" Sebastian repeated, wondering what that phrase meant. "What does TMI mean?"

"It stands for too much information." explained Thyme. "Duh."

Then Rosalind remembered the current situation at hand. "Wait, what are we all standing around here for? Let's get Ciel out of that corset before he suffocates!"

And with that being said, Rosalind freed Ciel from the dreaded garment, but Sebastian made sure to keep his hand over the mark on Ciel's back. Rosalind noticed this and raised an eyebrow, but thankfully said nothing. She had a feeling it may be something personal, or something he did not want them to see. Ciel then yelled at them all to get out of the room , he was in the middle of dressing, for God's sake, and they left him to change, though Thyme sniggered all the way out, despite Rosalind's numerous attempts to get her to quiet down.

Later that day a thought occurred to Ciel. He called the girls into his room. "You said something about a finishing school." he said, turning to Rosalind. He had called them in to see if there was anything he needed to know in order to masquerade as a girl. They may not act like it, but they were biologically speaking, women.

"Yes," Rosalind said, shuddering at the memories. "A few years back my family decided I should go away to finishing school to learn how to become- I swear to God this is their exact words- "A proper young lady".

"*Oh my God, Rosalind, don't swear to God! It's rude!" exclaimed a profoundly shocked Batty.

Rosalind and Thyme both doubled over laughing their heads off, much to Batty's confusion. Even Sebastian could not help but smile at this.

"Oh, Batty. Do you see the irony in that?" Rosalind asked, ruffling Batty's hair fondly.

Once everyone's giggles had at last subsided, Rosalind wet on with her story. "Anyway, so I was sent to to boarding school. It was, in a word: terrible. The dress code was incredibly uncomfortable and ridiculous. You would not _believe_ how long the skirts had to be, how painful the shoes and some of the clothes were, and how many you had to wear, even in summer. The dress code was only the half of it, though. "

"I didn't have many friends, nor did I get along well with most of the other girls. What really bothers me though, is this; I may have been able to put up with all of that if there were at least good lessons we were learning. I would have loved to learn more about literature, history, foreign cultures, debate, politics, mathematics, the arts, sciences, or something of the like. But we didn't learn anything like that at all. Instead, we learned the most meaningless and trivial sort of things."

"All we ever learned was ballroom dancing, etiquette, beauty secrets, and absolutely nothing important or worth knowing. In other words, they tried to drill into our heads that women should be seen, and not heard. Don't get me wrong, there's no harm in learning those skills I just mentioned, but I don't think a woman's education should be comprised _only_ of those skills. The school had a good library though, so I would always sneak off to their whenever I could. That was really the only thing keeping me there. Eventually I managed to run away. "

A memory popped into Sebastian's head as he heard all this. Hadn't Finny mentioned something about Rosalind being away at finishing school while Thyme was stuck in the lab? Was the timing entirely coincidental?

Meanwhile Ciel could see none of the girls could offer him any advice for the ball, so he told them they could leave.

Thyme, however, had different plans. "Hey, Ciel, do you mind if we go on a shopping trip tomorrow?"

"What for?" asked Rosalind and Ciel at the same time.

"Well Finny, Batty, and I are all bored, so we figured that while we are in London, why don't we make the most of it and go out some place?" said Thyme.

Rosalind considered it. "Need I remind you that there is a killer on the loose?" she reminded them.

"We'd be going out in the day time, and I highly doubt he would strike then, and I think you should come with us. You need to get things for the ball, anyway." countered Thyme.

"All right." Rosalind decided after a moment's pause. "But there will be some rules and conditions we'll need to go over, all right."

And so it was decided they would set out tomorrow.

The next morning Rosalind was in her room, packing her purse with items they would need for their shopping trip. She picked up a photograph held in an expensive looking frame. The photo was in black and white. In it were three little girls. One had brown hair worn in a braid, and happiness lit up her plain features. The other two, even in black and white, were stunning.

Their hairstyle was not unlike that of Elizabeth Middleford's; Their hair was worn in two pairs of curly chocolate brown twintails, and they two had happiness across their pretty features.

To one side were a tall man with dark hair and a tall blond woman holding a bundle containing a baby. They too were smiling. On the other side were two young men, grinning from ear to ear.

Rosalind stared at the picture for a long time and then, hesitating, put it into her bag. As she stood up, determination was I her heart and she left the room with a much bigger goal than simply buying clothes for a ball.

"This is gonna be awesome!"

"Yeah, we're going to get into some fun!"

"So boys, if we're not back by 10:00 P.M. you may want to call the cops, or Scotland Yard, or Queen Victoria, or the President of The United States, because we are going to be on the lam, baby!" These were the words coming out of Thyme's mouth as she was talking, eager for the trip. Batty, Rosalind, Grell, Madame Red, and Finny were coming along with her as well.

"Thyme, we are _not_ going to be getting into any trouble today!" Rosalind said, silently praying that they wouldn't. She had been so nervous the night before that she had actually added another 60 rules to the list. Now it was time to leave. As they walked out the door, Rosalind leaned towards Sebastian and whispered," If we're not back by _5:00 P.M. _you call the cops." And with that being said they were gone. Little did they know they were in for one heck of a shopping trip.

***That's a variation of a quote that my sister said.**

**Please review!**


	12. One heck of a shopping trip

**Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or alerted so much! *hands out two month anniversary celebration* Speaking of which, Leap of Faith has been on here for two months now!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler**

Chapter 12: One heck of a shopping trip 

As the group set out to their destination, Rosalind began to read aloud from the list of rules and procedures she had made. She had added on an extra 60 rules the night before, making a total of 210 rules in all that- _hopefully-_ her sisters were to follow. Rosalind was quite nervous at the prospect of letting her sisters roam the street of London while there was a killer on the loose, even in broad daylight. Needless to say, Rosalind hadn't gotten a lot of sleep that night.

It wasn't until midway through reading, however, that Rosalind noticed something.

"Excuse me, Grell? But weren't we supposed to turn left just now?" asked Rosalind as Grell steered the carriage to the right.

"B-But Miss Thyme gave me directions and we were were supposed to go right!" stammered Grell, confused.

Rosalind frowned. "That's odd," she mused. "I thought that to get to the stores we were planning on shopping at, we were supposed to go the other way?"

"Oh, to get to the stores, that's true," Thyme said suddenly. "But that's not where we're going."

"What do you mean that's not where we're going?" demanded Rosalind, starting to get a bad feeling about this.

_This can't be good, _Rosalind thought to herself as a broad smile spread across Thyme's face.

"We," she announced to the now apprehensive group, "Are going to the ports."

"And what pray tell were you planning on having us do at these ports?" asked Rosalind, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer. The sinking feeling she had gotten earlier was now rising to her throat.

"We," replied Thyme, "are going on a boat ride."

"A boat ride!" The entire group chorused. "Since when?"

_Oh God, what have we gotten ourselves into this time? _ Rosalind wondered, possibilities as to everything that could possibly go wrong raced around in her head.

"Since I bought the tickets for the boat over a week ago." Thyme answered, grinning from ear to ear. "Won't that be fun?"

"Thyme that sounds like a lot of fun," began Rosalind, who herself had been wanting to do something like that for quite a while.

"But," said Thyme, already predicting what Rosalind would say.

"But we have to go shopping today," finished Rosalind.

"We can go shopping later," Thyme persisted. "The boat ride starts at 11:45 and shan't be longer than an hour or two. We can have a late lunch and should still have time to go shopping afterwards."

Rosalind considered this for a moment. Right now it was just after 11:00 A.M. and the ride to the ports would only take about half an hour at most, and that was only if there was traffic. The timing should work out fine, but…

"Say, Thyme," Rosalind asked. "Do you think we would be back in time to go shopping by, oh I don't know; let's say 3:00 P.M., for instance?"

Thyme did the math in her head. "I suppose so. Yes, definitely. Why do you ask?" She added suspiciously.

"Oh, no reason." said Rosalind evasively. "I just wanted to make sure that there was enough time for us to go shopping was all."

Thyme stared at Rosalind for a moment, and then clapped her hands together eagerly. "Then it's settled! We're all going on a boat ride!"

As Rosalind went back to reading- and quite possibly adding more- rules on the list, she adjusted her glasses, turning away from the group. _Rosalind, you have just been kidnapped by your younger sister; what does that say about you?_

Part of her was breathing a mental sigh of relief that Thyme had not questioned her motives any further than she already had, but she was still nervous; there was another reason than what she had said. A very good, very secret reason...

"We're here~!" Thyme sang as the carriage pulled up near the ports. "It's pretty crowded here!" Thyme remarked as they searched for their boat. "Everyone, if you think you're going to get lost, just gather around Rosalind!" With that being said, everyone blocked Rosalind's way as they circled around her.

After a while, it got quite annoying. "Oh for Goodness's sakes, I'm not a bloody maypole!" Rosalind snapped.

Everyone gasped. "Oh my God, she actually cursed at us!" Thyme gaped.

"Oh, erm, please excuse my foul mouthedness." Rosalind shifted awkwardly and uncomfortably.

Eventually they found their boat and Thyme handed the people there some tickets as they all boarded. They were on a white boat along with several other passengers.

As they searched for seats, a familiar voice called out, "Hi~!" And Elizabeth Middleford bounded towards them.

"Lizzie!" Thyme and Batty squealed and ran towards their fellow gal pal, and the three embraced in a group hug. Elizabeth then turned towards Madame Red. "Hello, Auntie Anne!" She greeted.

"Hello, Elizabeth." Madame Red replied.

"Lady Elizabeth!" A worried voice called out and a tall fair-skinned woman dressed in brown with long and thick hair of the same color and glistening brown eyes ran towards them. She had on a cute little black hat and was carrying a purse. "Oh, there you are, My Lady. You mustn't run off like that; I was getting ever so worried!"

"Oh, sorry Paula." Lizzie apologized to the woman- Paula- and turned to face the rest of the onlookers. "This is my maid, Paula. Paula, these people are Finny, the gardener at Ciel's house, Madame Red- my auntie Anne- her butler Grell, Rosalind, Batty, and Thyme Rosemary, my friends!"

"Hello!" Paula said politely, the already gentle look on her face softening even more. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

And thus, the gal pal reunion was born.

"Lizzie, what are you doing here?" The gal pals were eagerly conversing with each other already.

"The same as you, silly," she replied happily. "I'm here for the boat ride of course!"

"Lizzie, where are your parents?" asked Rosalind. Rosalind knew that Paula was with Lizzie, but remembered the last time they had seen the girl; she had said something about not telling anybody where she was going. Unlike last time though, at least this time she was not by herself. Still, Rosalind really did not want a police officer to turn up at their door the next day filing a missing person's report for a Miss Elizabeth Middleford.

"Oh, they're stuck in London on business. We are all currently residing in London, actually, "Lizzie said," but right now they're busy with business…" Elizabeth's voice trailed off as she said the last part.

"Do they know that you're here?" Rosalind was very tentative about asking this. For just the briefest moment possible, a look of what almost appeared to be sadness, or perhaps loneliness, flickered across Elizabeth's features. Perhaps going places without telling people was Elizabeth's way of getting attention?

"Oh, I told them." Lizzie replied, much to Rosalind's relief.

"All right then." said Rosalind and dropped the subject.

After this, Rosalind spent some time observing and admiring the beautiful scenery that they passed while on the boat. Light from the sun reflected on the water below them, making the ocean look like hundreds of glistening diamonds joined together. There was a joyous atmosphere all around. As Finny and the gal pals all talked, laughed, and played together, one could not help but feel a euphoric feeling emitting from the group.

"The Golden Trio," Rosalind commented to Paula as she watched the group enjoy each other's company.

"Indeed," Paula agreed. "The feeling they give off is like the sun's golden rays!"

"Actually, I was referring to their hair color," said Rosalind, thoroughly impressed by Paula's analogy. "But that is so much more creative and has so much more depth!"

"Well, that would work too." Paula said kindly, pointing to Lizzie's curly twintails, Batty's curls, and Thyme's long hair.

"You know, I really am glad that Lady Elizabeth has met and befriended your sisters," Paula said suddenly. "Although my lady is a very social girl, it appears to me that she doesn't have many friends. "

"Oh?" Rosalind was surprised. "Why is that? I would have thought that a girl like her would have had many girlfriends that she would visit and meet up with quite frequently."

"One would think that," Paula agreed with a nod. "But for My Lady, at least, that is not the case. Lady Elizabeth, despite attending many social events, does not seem to have many friends I suppose, possibly because of her rash and overexcited nature. She is rather energetic, you know, and sometimes forgets to look before she leaps. In spite of all of that, however, My Lady posses such a good heart; she tries to make others happy, but she is merely unsure how the best way to go about that is."

"When she came back home after meeting your sisters for the first time… there were few times that could compete with how happy she was back then. She was in a delightful mood for days after that."

"Rest assured, I can guarantee you that my sisters feel the same way." Rosalind smiled. "It's so nice to see them playing together again, perhaps we could arrange for Lady Elizabeth to come visit us sometime?"

"Uwah! That would be lovely!" Paula said clapping her hands together with so much enthusiasm Rosalind could not help but grin. "Oh, I do believe My Lady would love that!"

Meanwhile Finny and the gal pals were talking. "Oh! That reminds me," Lizzie was saying to the group. "Is Ciel staying with you in London?"

Thyme was about to answer that he was, when Rosalind pulled her to the side.

"What's up?" asked Thyme.

"First of all that is not proper grammar," began Rosalind. "Secondly, you cannot tell Elizabeth that Ciel is staying with us here in London. "

"Why not?" asked Thyme in surprise.

"It might cause problems for solving the case if she knew," explained Rosalind. "You should probably just say we're here by ourselves."

"But she probably just really wants to see him," Thyme argued. "And it might be a pleasant surprise for him to see her. What harm could that do?"

"Regardless of whether or not they wish to see each other isn't the point," Rosalind said, trying to think of the best way to explain this. "The point is that Ciel does not want Lizzie to become involved in all of this. Suppose the murderer uses Lizzie as a tool to get to Ciel, or she becomes the next victim? We can't be too careful; it's all for everyone's own good. Besides, she can see him again once this is all over."

Thyme reluctantly gave in and told Lizzie that they were vacationing by themselves.

"Oh," Lizzie looked slightly disappointed." All right then. I was just thinking that it would be nice to see him again since I haven't seen him since …" Elizabeth's voice trailed off as she remembered what had happened last time. Thyme suddenly realized what she was thinking about; the last time they had been together, Elizabeth had, in a fit of rage, broken Ciel's most cherished ring. Although Ciel seemed to have forgiven her for that, Elizabeth evidently had not yet forgiven herself.

Thyme was about to offer some words of comfort, when Lizzie suddenly changed the topic. "Oh my, what a beautiful day, is it not? It's positively cute!" As Lizzie went on to discuss the settings around them, all talk from earlier was forgotten, and the group's cheery mood was restored once more.

As the boat reached the dock, people on deck tied it down to the shore. The group bade each other their goodbyes as they began to depart. Rosalind was quite relieved; so far they had managed to avert disaster the entire boat ride.

"See you all again soon!" Lizzie called as she and Paula started to get off the ship along with everyone else. Or rather, almost everyone; Thyme was still on board the ship, investigating how it worked.

"Thyme, we're leaving now!" Rosalind called out, though she was in a calmer mood than she ordinarily would have been. That boat ride must have done her good.

"I'll be there in a minute!" Thyme called back, continuing to inspect the ship's parts.

Rosalind nodded and turned her attention to the rest of the group for a moment when she noticed Lizzie motioning towards her." Tell me," she whispered so that only they could hear. "Has Ciel been smiling since I saw him last?"

"Er," Rosalind was unsure how to respond to this question. Ciel, in truth, had not, but Rosalind did not know if she should tell Lizzie that. Her answer was cut off, however, by the sound of someone falling. Craning her head to look, Rosalind found that it was a woman wearing very long floor length skirts that had tripped over the rope tying the boat down.

_This is why I do not wear floor length skirts, _Rosalind thought to herself as she went over to see if the woman was all right. _They're nearly impossible to walk in, and they're so easy to trip in. And they feel so hot when wearing them in the summer. It makes perfect sense to wear long skirts in the winter because it's so cold, but even then it's not a good idea to wear them all the way to the floor, I don't think. _

As Rosalind helped the woman- who at this point was starting to attract a bit of a crowd- she noticed something; as the woman had tripped over the rope, she had been wearing high heels- another no no in Rosalind's book- causing it to-

"Tear," Rosalind said aloud, a horrible feeling of foreboding creeping up on her as she realized what had just happened. "This rope is torn, which means…"

Rosalind whipped her head around to the direction of the boat, and found that it was starting to float away. _With her sister in it! _

"THYME!" Rosalind screamed, in the hopes that her sister would hear and be able to get off the boat before it would move to far away for her to do so. "GET OFF OF THAT SHIP!"

"Yeah?" Thyme turned around from where she was and by the time she realized what was happening, it was too late.

"HELP!" Thyme hollered, loud enough for some people to hear her. People started to turn their heads in her direction, and gasps rang out.

"SOMEONE STOP THAT SHIP!" Shrieked Rosalind, frantically searching the crowd for anyone that could possibly be of assistance. Scanning the crowd, she saw the face of someone who was part of the crew that had been on the boat with them. "My sister is on that ship," Rosalind said quickly." Could you send someone after her?"

The man nodded. "Yes madam, I will send another boat out for her right away."As he turned to leave, Rosalind realized that Thyme might be out at sea by the time it would take him to organize a crew, find a ship that was currently available, and then actually set out before they could find her.

Finny ran up to the dock and took off his shoes and socks.

"Finny, what are you-"

Finny did not say anything. Instead he jumped into the water below him, ignoring all the shouts from above.

"Oh my goodness, I think he's trying to save her!" Rosalind breathed, assessing the situation at once.

A man nearby her snorted. "Stupid lad, he doesn't stand a chance at a ship like that. It's getting harder to see it already. What does he think he's doing? Didn't he hear that they were already sending someone to save that girl? She's none too bright either; staying by herself on that ship. Honestly…"

_SNAP!_ Rosalind now turned on the man, fists clenched, body shaking. "For your information that is my sister you are talking about, and that boy over there will likely become my future brother in law in a few years. And while you were too busy criticizing the intellect of others, did it never occur to you that by the time a ship would have been sent out, that it may be too late? What that boy is doing is brave, not foolish. And I believe he can get her back; he is very strong and if he is able to use his muscles to swim fast enough, he can pull the boat back to shore. And you have the nerve to call either of them stupid? Such hypocrisy…"

With a final death glare, Rosalind turned away from the now very confused man, who had a sneaking suspicion that Rosalind had just called him an idiot.

Meanwhile, Finny was in the water, still swimming to save Thyme. He swam harder and faster than he had ever had in his entire life. The boat was moving way, but Finny was speeding up. The boat was fast, but Finny was faster. He was just feet away, when he reached forward, placing his fingers on the side of the ship, bringing it to a halt.

Thyme felt the boat rock and clutched onto the rail for dear life. Looking down she saw what could easily be mistaken for sea water, but Thyme recognized them right away as the color of Finny's eyes. "Finny," she breathed, blue eyes widening. Sure enough a familiar strawberry-blonde head emerged as well.

"Thyme!" he called, and started to climb on to the boat.

"Finny!" she gasped again; evidently that was all she capable of saying at the moment.

"Take my hand!" he said, but then realized that by doing that it may be hard to get Thyme over the railing.

"No, never mind," he decided as Thyme held out her hand for him. "Just… just hold on tight, okay?" and with that being said, Finny lifted her into his arms and then proceeded to jump into the water.

"GERONIMO!" Thyme screamed as they jumped in.

They would have made it had it not been for Finny's shirt getting caught on a loose nail.

"Oh, _come on."_ He muttered exasperatedly and then, being as he couldn't get them down, just threw off his shirt so they could fall in the water.

Finny was about to swim away with Thyme, when she stopped him. "We have to bring the boat back too!"

Then, making sure to hold onto Thyme and his shirt with one hand, he used his other hand to pull the boat.

"Look, I think I see something!"

"Where?"

"Up ahead, I- I- I think it's the boat!"

Rosalind turned in the direction of the voices and saw that, sure enough, the boat was coming their way. Murmuring and gasps went out through the crowd. Rosalind had made sure that by the time that the boat was returned that there would be a new piece of rope that would tie it in place, and members of the crew came round and tied it in place as it reached the dock.

Rosalind, Lizzie, Batty, Paula, Madame Red, and Grell, all ran towards Finny and Thyme. Finny lifted him and Thyme out of the water.

"Is she all right?" Lizzie asked green eyes fearful.

Thyme muttered something incomprehensible.

"What was that, Thyme?" Finny asked, holding her close.

Thyme spat up some sea water and Finny pounded her on the back, which ordinarily would have hurt anyone else had Thyme not had super strength like he did.

Thyme opened one eyelid. "Finny," she whispered.

"Yes?" he asked. "Thyme, can you hear me? Are you all right? Is there anything we can do to make you feel better?"

"Well," she said quietly. "I guess there is one thing you could do."

"Anything." Finny said quietly. "I would do _anything_ for you, Thyme."

"Well Finny," Thyme mused. "I think it would really made me feel better if you showed me your six Pac."

A _very _awkward silence followed this. Thyme realized what she had just said and blushed furiously. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Yes." said Rosalind.

"Huh?" said Finny.

To spare herself from any more embarrassment, Thyme decided that was the most opportune moment to sneeze. "Achoo!" she sneezed loudly.

"Are you cold, Thyme?" asked Finny, eyes full of concern for his friend.

"A-a l-little." Thyme managed to say, teeth chattering.

"Here, take my shirt then." Finny insisted, wrapping Thyme in the said garment.

"Are you feeling any better?" He asked, as Thyme pulled the shirt over her head.

"A little," she admitted, but decided not to point out that the shirt was still wet being as it had been in the water, although it did help to some extent.

"Any chance of there being a magic set of dry clothes in the magic bag, Rosy?" Thyme said, turning to Rosalind as she spoke, motioning towards the duck tape bag. Rosalind was a major over-packer, packing things she would never use, so Thyme had been hoping that maybe Rosalind had brought a spare change of clothes with her.

Rosalind shook her head. "Sorry Thyme, there's not. But we can stop by the house for you two to get changed there. After all, if Finny keeps wandering around like that, he's going to get arrested."

Rosalind had meant this last part as a joke, but Finny took it very seriously.

"You mean they're going to arrest me?" Finny wailed, trembling. "I'm too young to go to jail! Oh, I'm so sorry everyone! I-"

"Don't worry Finny; Rosalind was only joking!"Thyme assured him, and he relaxed. Rosalind then looked them over for any signs of injury, and upon finding none; everyone went back into the carriage to go back to the town house. Rosalind managed to find an old blanket in the trunk of the carriage, which she lent to Finny, despite his insisting that he was fine, she made sure he wrapped around himself anyway.

Lau and Ciel were sitting in the living room playing old maid when the doorbell rang. Sebastian opened the door and Ciel went to see who it was. He found his aunt, her butler, his gardener, Rosalind, Thyme, and Batty, all standing there. His gardener was wrapped in a blanket, Thyme was wearing Finny's shirt over her own, and both of them were soaking wet.  
>"Do I <em>want<em> to know?" Ciel wondered wearily as he took in the sight he was beholding.

Regardless of whether or not he wanted to know, he found out any way. Thyme, after she had gotten changed, went on in full detail to describe the day's events to Ciel. "You should have seen him, Ciel Baby! Finny was so amazing!" Thyme finally finished as the group ate lunch that Sebastian had prepared for them in an astonishingly short amount of time. When Madame Red had at one point had asked him how he prepared it so quickly, he simply replied." I am merely one hell of a butler."

Finny had gotten changed too, and Rosalind insisted on buying him a new shirt, being as it was slightly torn from the loose nail on deck. Rosalind seemed to be in quite a hurry for them to finish lunch and leave the house to get back to – or rather, actually _start_- shopping, something which was noted as suspicious by Thyme, being as Rosalind had never been one to particularly enjoy shopping. On the contrary, she rather hated it, what with all those lines…

Once the group set out again, they soon reached the street corner where they would agree to meet on. "All right, we shall all meet up on the corner of Lacey's Dress Shoppe, and Hattie's Hats in precisely one hour. Not to be confused with the corner of Lacey's Dresses and Hattie's Hat Shoppe. " Rosalind was now saying to the group as they stood in front of the department stores.

Thyme raised an eyebrow. "They both have the same names? Who was the genius that came up with that?"

"I… have no idea, actually. I will have to look into that sometime. Anyway, have you all got your copies of the rules that I made last night? Yes? Good. Whistles?"

Rosalind had been very concerned about her sisters' safety and had decided that they should carry around something with them in case they were in trouble. For one terrifying moment she had actually considered letting her sisters carry around pepper spray with them, but then an image of her sisters accidentally spraying themselves/ and, or, passing bystanders with it by mistake had entered her head, and that notion left as quickly as it had came. Even scarier was when she briefly considered having them carry a weapon of some sort, such as a dagger, for protection in case there was an emergency, but that thought was even more frightening and dangerous, and, to make a very long story short, Rosalind had eventually decided that they should wear whistles around their necks, to blow only in an emergency.

Rosalind also decided that Finny, Thyme, and Batty should all stick together, being that Finny and Thyme both had super strength, Rosalind felt that if, God forbid, they were attacked by someone, all Finny and Thyme would have to do was blow their whistles and swing blindly at the attacker, and thus being able to knock them out with one shot due to their strength. The group nodded in affirmative that they had their whistles, and Rosalind relaxed.

" Now then, I must be off. Make sure to stick together, don't talk to strangers, and don't go farther away than a few blocks. See you in an hour!" And with that being said, Rosalind made a mad dash across the street, turned the corner, and was out of both vision and ear shot in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile Grell and Madame Red entered one of the shops.

_She sure seems to be in a hurry to get somewhere_, Thyme mused to herself but thought no more on the matter as she now realized that she, Batty, and Finny were all on their own. In other words: They could do anything they wanted… as long as Rosalind said it was okay.

"Hey! You guys want to get some ice cream?" Thyme suggested.

"YAY! Ice cream!" Batty and Finny cheered. Evidently that was a yes. The group turned around the corner and raced each other to the nearest ice cream shop.

"What flavor will you be getting, Finny?" Thyme asked as they walked into the shop.

Finny's face fell. "Oh, I just remembered; I don't have any money with me. I can't get any."

"Don't worry Finny; I'll buy some for you! Rosalind gave Batty and I some money, and she said we can buy things we like with it- provided that it is not illegal, dangerous, or inappropriate-, although she told us to save some in case there's an emergency. " Thyme assured Finny, whose whole face lit up at once.

"Really? Thanks, Thyme!"

After everyone chose what flavors they wanted and they bought their ice cream, as Thyme handed Finny his cone a thought occurred to her. "Say, Finny," she asked. "How come you don't have any money with you? I mean, doesn't Ciel Baby pay you for your work?"

" Oh, the young master doesn't pay me." Finny replied as he licked his ice cream. "Hmmm. this is good!"

"WHAT?" Thyme exclaimed so loudly that other customers in the shop turned their heads in their direction.

"No, really, this is really very good!" Finny assured her. "This is delicious! What's wrong? Do you not like yours?"

"No, that's not it." Thyme explained, realizing that Finny thought she had been talking about the ice cream. "I'm not talking about the ice cream, Finny. I would never _dare_, say something like that about the holier-than-though food. No, what I am talking about is the fact that Ciel Baby doesn't even pay you when you work so hard! Oh, when I get my hands on him-"

"Thyme!" Finny intervened, trying to calm down a very irate Thyme."The reason the young master doesn't pay me is because I told him not to! Please don't kill him!"

"Huh?"Said Thyme, looking mystified.

"The young master is nothing like those doctors back in the lab." Finny said quietly. "The youngmaster doesn't give me injections every day. The young master doesn't kill my friends. The young master doesn't lock me up. I love it here. That's why I decided I'd protect it_._ I don't _need_ money; I'm happy enough here already. And I get to see you every day, Thyme!"

" Mr. Sebastian and the young master provide me with food and shelter, and they buy me all of my clothing and anything else I may need. When they offered me a position here, they offered to pay me, but I told them I didn't care about that. I told them that all I really wanted was… just to be able to go outside."

Thyme was silent as Finny finished. Then" I see. I… am so very glad that you are happy. "

"Thyme?" Finny said suddenly, leaning towards her. "You're crying. UWAH! I'm so sorry! Thyme, did I make you cry?"

"Are you okay?" Batty whispered softly, placing a small gentle hand on her sister's arm.

"I- I'm okay." Thyme tried to compose herself. "I'm just happy for you Finny. Really."Those words were truer than he- or anyone for that matter- could ever know.

Batty handed her sister a napkin for her face.

"Thank you, Batty." She whispered, for once in her life. "I'm all right now. Let's just eat our ice-cream!"

The trio's mood brightened considerably after that. Once they finished their ice cream- Finny was right in his declaration of its deliciousness- the group went to a local hat shop nearby; Hattie's Hatte Shop

"Its name is spelled wrong!" Thyme exclaimed upon seeing the store. "Hat has only one T in it, not two! And there's not supposed to be an "E" in it either! That's bad for business! We better go in, just to prevent the place from going bankrupt at this rate!" So they went in. Tiaras, cat ears, ear muffs, bunny ears, baby bonnets, and more lined the shelves.

"Ooooohhh." They all gasped in wonder. Needless to say, they proceeded to try on several hats.

"Aw, you look so cute in that baby bonnet, Finny!" thyme squealed as she tied a lacy white bonnet onto his head. So far that day he had been forced into various hats of all different kinds from Batty and Thyme's choosing. "I think we should definitely buy this one! What do you guys think?"

Batty nodded enthusiastically while Finny just smiled and said," If you want to Thyme, go ahead!"

"Oh, Finny could you try on this pair of cat ears for me? I know I've asked you to try on other pairs already, but I think these would really bring out your eyes!" Thyme suggested.

The idea to coerce a boy into wearing a garment of clothing that would bring out his eyes would result for most boys in a lifetime of therapy. However, Finny was different. He had tried on just about every hat in the store that day, from tiaras to baby bonnets to animal ears, and so far there were no signs of him being likely to end up in therapy…_yet_. So Finny tried on the cat ears hat Thyme had given him.

Thyme and batty both clapped their hands when they saw him try it on.

"Oh, it's perfect!" Thyme declared. "All that's missing is the dress and tail!"

Finny was unsure how to react to that. For reasons he could not comprehend, his friend seemed to have a very strong temptation to put him in a dress.

"Oh, look! It's one of those books where you can leave suggestions for the store, and where you can write down what you like and dislike!" Batty exclaimed eagerly, pointing to a black notebook lying on a table nearby. "I love books like that!"

The three walked over to the notebook and wrote their thoughts don in it. As they were leaving, Thyme wrote,

" Change the spelling of your name. I love your hat selections though! P.S. Could you include a dress selection for the next time we come here?"

Thyme ran out of the shop and looked at the clock tower above them; they were late to meet up with Rosalind and the others. Batty, Finny, and Thyme ran as fast as they could. Where were they supposed to meet again? On the corner of Lacey's dresses and Hattie's Hats? Hold on, weren't they just _in_ Hattie's Hats? No, wait a moment; they had been in _Hattie's Hatte Shop. _There were three hat shops, all of whom had the word "Hattie" in the title? Now that was just asking for confusion. After getting lost several times,they finally made it back. To their surprise Rosalind wasn't back yet, but they were very late. Madame Red and Grell were waiting too.

"Butler Boy, Madame Red, Fin-Fin, Batty, and I are all back but Rosy isn't?" Thyme remarked. " Ladies and Gentlemen, in an answer to your question, yes; Hell did indeed freeze over today!"

"Oh, calm down, Thyme, I'm here now!" Rosalind came running up to them panting. "Sorry about that, everyone. I'm here now, is everyone okay?"

"Duh," Thyme could not help but smirk at this. "What, did you expect us all to be dead or something?" Thyme had only been joking, but Rosalind glared right at her.

"That's not funny, Thyme." She said sharply. "I was concerned. Anyway, I'll go shopping with Madame Red now; you guys have fun, but be careful, and remember what I told you all earlier."

And with that being said, Rosalind, Grell, and Madame Red all left.

A thought occurred to Thyme, Rosalind had never said how far exactly a few blocks meant. If Thyme had to guess, she would say that Rosalind meant no more than two or three blocks away, but the place Thyme had in mind was about four blocks away. But since Rosalind had never actually said that, it should be okay for them to go a little farther than she probably meant… Besides, it wasn't _that_ far anyway.

"I have an idea!" Thyme declared suddenly. "Follow me!"

Thyme started to run off and Batty and Finny hurried to follow her, wondering where she had in mind…

They were standing outside of a creepy old building; moss and ivy covered the walls, and a sign with a –hopefully- fake scull up above it said "Undertaker." Batty personally was terrified already, as was Finny.

"Um, Thyme, what are we doing here?" Finny asked as Batty held onto his hand tightly.

"Well, it's obvious isn't it?" said Thyme matter-of-factly. "We're going to be hanging out at the Undertaker's."

"Hanging out at the Undertaker's?" They repeated, horrorstruck.

"Yep, that's what I just said, isn't it." Thyme confirmed." Now let's go in."

And with that being said she knocked, and when there was no answer proceeded to pill the door open.

The door opened to reveal a cold, dark room, lit only by the rays of sunlight coming in through the now open door. Though the atmosphere was cold, and the sun was giving off string rays of humidity, the coldness did not feel pleasant at all. Or at least to Finny and Batty it wasn't. Thyme, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind. "Cool! This place is so wicked! Undertaker, are you in here? We're coming in!"

A high pitched chuckling filled the room and a figure in black robes with silver hair emerged from behind a coffin. "Ah, Miss Rosemary, do come in. You're in luck; I just made cookies for everyone. I sensed you were coming. Now, tell me; who are your friends? "

"This is Finny, and this is my little sister Batty." Thyme introduced, before they could get away.

"Batty, Finny, this is Undertaker."

"H-Hi Mr. Undertaker." Finny stammered while Batty mumbled something incomprehensible, but was probably under the lines of "hello."

"What a pleasure to meet you all," He smiled an eerie smile.

"Hey, Undertaker, can we try on some of your robes?" Thyme asked suddenly.

"Why certainly!" The undertaker replied. "Nobody has ever asked to try on some of my clothes before; I believe I have some in the back, if you'll excuse me…"

As Undertaker left to fetch the robes, Batty noticed the tray of cookies he had left lying around. They were all in the shape of skulls. "Should we eat them?" Batty whispered to Thyme.

"I'll ask him what's in them." She replied, though she liked Undertaker, there was always the chance that he had put something bad in them without their knowing it.

When he came back with a fresh set of robes in hand, Thyme asked the question. He listed off all of the ingredients which were, fortunately, edible and not at all gross, or poisoned. Thyme tentatively took a bite as she slipped into the robe, and found that not only was it safe it was also delicious.

" You may sit down on or in the coffins provided that they don't have spikes poking out of them. Now then, who wants to have their future told?" Undertaker asked as the group sat down on the coffins and ate the cookies.

"Oh! Oh! Me! Me!" Thyme raised her hand.

"We have a future," Finny breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good news."Evidently no one would be dying today… hopefully.

"Cool." Batty nodded in agreement.

Thyme leaned over to Undertaker and whispered," Pssst. Hey man, will Finny be in my future?"

"Oh yes," Undertaker replied in an undertone. "He will indeed play a part in your future."

As Thyme sat there squealing, Undertaker grinned. "I have a great many stories to tell as well as fortunes. Which would you prefer?"

Meanwhile, Rosalind was having nowhere near as much fun. For two hours now, Madame Red had taken her to what seemed like just about every clothing store in London. Not all of them were even clothing stores; she had even been taken to Penelope's Purses, as well as various cosmetic stores. Rosalind loathed shopping and had only gone on this trip to begin with because she had to. In other words, she was currently bored out of her mind. At the moment, Madame Red was trying to coax her into a pair of high heels.

"No."

"Oh ,be a sport."

"No."

"You need to wear nice shoes to the party!"

"I already have a nice pair of flats at home; if we put a bit of shoe polish on them, they should look fine."

"Well, you can't go to a ball looking like that!" Madame Red pointed to Rosalind's shoes as she spoke. Rosalind had on her usual old pair of sensible brown running shoes; they were the closest things to sneakers back in those days, and enabled Rosalind to walk and run in them fairly well.

"Fine, you want to see what happens when I wear high heels?" Rosalind picked up a pair of shiny red ones Madame Red had picked out for her. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Rosalind put the shoes on her feet, fastened the straps, and tried to walk. Rosalind wobbled and tripped within seconds. As she fell, her arm brushed against a particularly fragile and expensive looking vase, causing it to crash into the glass window and out onto the streets where it broke. _It appears that at times I can be just as clumsy as Thyme._ Rosalind thought, cursing herself.

_I have just broken a vase and a glass window. Thyme breaks everything with her super strength. Batty, however, seems fairly poised. I wonder if the clumsiness gene skipped over her or if she'll grow into it as she gets older? _

Rosalind's thoughts were interrupted as Madame Red and Grell checked to see if she was okay. Rosalind took off the dangerous shoes when the manager of the store came over. And to make a _very _long story short, Madame Red agreed to pay for the window damage while Rosalind would pay for the vase. Afterwards they were kicked out and banished to ever go back there again. Rosalind silently thanked her lucky stars that Batty and Thyme hadn't been there to see that little display, or else she knew that they would never let her live it down. Speaking of which, where were they?

"…and then a dark figure emerged from the shadows, proclaiming-"

"It is time." a voice came from behind them.

Batty, Finny, and Thyme all screamed.

"It is time for you to go home." Grell was standing timidly right behind them, startled by their screaming. Undertaker was not affected by this; he had been in the middle of telling the kids a ghost story when Grell walked in. Madame Red and Rosalind followed. Thyme gulped at the site of her sister, and boy was she mad.

"_You._" She hissed, turning to Undertaker. "Why are my sisters and their friend here? What have you done to them? And- hold on, where did Thyme go?" Rosalind's eyes searched the room, though she saw no sign of her sister. But hadn't she been there just a moment ago…

"_What have you done to her!" _Rosalind grabbed hold of Undertaker, pinning him against the law. "ANSWER ME! I have gotten the police in on this, and I will have them arrest you if you have done anything-"

"Rosalind, calm down!" Thyme exclaimed, coming out from a coffin. Rosalind jumped back and screamed.

"I just went inside one of these coffins because I thought Grell was a murderer or a vampire or a jaywalker or something!"

"Thyme!" Rosalind gasped, hand over heart, ran towards her sister and embraced her. "Oh thank God, oh thank God you're all right… you are all right, right? What happened? Were you kidnapped? Did he do anything to you? Did he- Wait, why are you dressed like that?"

Rosalind had only just noticed her sister's attire consisting of long black robes that went past her feet.

"Oh, I asked Undertaker if he would let me try on some of his robes." Thyme said casually. "Batty and Finny are wearing them too." Rosalind whipped her head around and saw Finny sitting on a coffin, and found Batty hiding between two coffins. "It's okay, she whispered gently. "You can come on out now." And Batty did.

"What was happening when we came in?" Rosalind asked quietly.

"Oh, Mr. Undertaker was telling us a ghost story." Batty whispered. "He also told us our fortunes and baked us cookies."

Rosalind stopped dead in her tracks and turned around slowly facing Undertaker. "What. Did. You. Do. To. Them?"

The young lad and lasses came by," said Undertaker, chuckling calmly, not at all nervous at Rosalind's angry arrival. "I baked some cookies. Would you like some?"

"_Are you mocking me?"_ Rosalind wanted to sound powerful, but her voice came out in a whisper, taking in her surroundings in the dark room with moss and Ivy growing on the walls.

"Not at all," the Undertaker replied calmly." Your sisters and their friend ate some; they were quite delicious."

Rosalind turned to look at them, incredulous beyond description. "You ate the cookies? Did you not consider the possibility of them being drugged or poisoned?"

The responses she got were indignant.

"I asked what the ingredients were before we ate them! God!"

"They were safe!"

"Thyme tasted them first, only taking a couple of small nibbles so that she would be able to tell without actually experiencing any negative affects too badly!"

"I'm offended that you'd think we would actually think we would do something so stupid!"

Once the replies had subsided, Rosalind still didn't feel much better about the situation. "You were right to ask, but he could have been lying! Did _that _ever occur to any of you?"

An uncomfortable silence followed this as the girls and Finny took this into consideration. Thyme was the first to speak," Rosalind, we didn't think-"

"That," said Rosalind coolly. "Is obvious."

"Well, he wasn't lying, was he."Thyme decided to break the silence." So what does it matter?" As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Thyme instantly regretted them. Before Rosalind could react, however, Undertaker intervened. "Now, now, little lady. That is no way to talk to your older sister. Besides, she's going to fill in for Queen Victoria in a few years."

Rosalind was completely caught off guard by this. "What?"

"You will become the new queen of England in a few years time. "Undertaker repeated casually. "Also, during that time West Virginia and Virginia will become one and create one giant Virginia. " It was at this moment Rosalind decided she was officially creeped out by this place and decided it was time to leave, but first things first-" Are you sure you are all okay?"

"Yep." They chorused.

Thyme, however wanted to say one more thing. "Technically we didn't do anything wrong. You never said we were not allowed here."

Rosalind thought of how to respond. Thyme was partially right; she never did say they weren't allowed back there, and they were perfectly okay, but she still didn't want to see them back there again…

"You may have a point," Rosalind grudgingly admitted. "But I don't want you guys to come back here ever again without me. Okay?"

"Okay!"

Rosalind then turned to Undertaker, embarrassed. "I believe I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I was just worried because I didn't know what had happened to my sisters. I was wrong. I give you my sincerest apologies, and hope we didn't have cause you too much trouble."

Thyme, Finny, and Batty handed in their robes and left, waving at Undertaker as they passed.

By the time Rosalind had fished assuring the constables that everything was under control, it was too late to go home for dinner, so they decided to eat out instead. Madame Red told them about a restaurant she knew, and they decided to go there. As they walked pass a woman at the bar wearing an off the shoulder green dress, they found a booth for them to sit at. Midway through dinner, Madame Red sent Grell to get her another drink. When he returned, she took the drink, took a sip, and collapsed.

While everyone gasped, Rosalind ran over to her, felling for a pulse. There was one, though it was quite slow. Rosalind put her fingertip into the glass, and cautiously licked a droplet of the drink. Just as she had suspected. "She's been drugged." Rosalind announced to the group of worried onlookers. "I believe that she will be okay, but right now we should probably get her to the hospital just to make sure.

_Interesting that whoever intended this for her made sure that the drink was drugged, but not poisoned. _Rosalind thought to herself as she waited in the waiting room at the hospital. Grell, Batty, Thyme, and Finny were all there with her. They had been interrogated by countless policemen as to what had happened, and although Grell had been the one to hand her the drink, he seemed to have no idea that t had been drugged. Indeed, he seemed as shocked as anyone about the whole thing. The police would be questioning the people at the bar the later that night as well.

A doctor came towards them. Rosalind stood up. "Doctor, how is she?"

"She is perfectly fine." The doctor stated calmly. "You may take her home for the night, if you wish."

Madame Red came into the waiting room minutes later and the group set out for home.

Finally the day was coming to an end Rosalind thought wearily, as the carriage pulled up in front of the house.

She was dead wrong. Several carriages were parked outside of the house. _Oh, what now?_ Rosalind silently moaned as they went in through the door. Ciel and Sebastian were there, along with several other men in uniforms.

"What the dickens is going on?" Rosalind almost wailed.

"You instructed us to contact the police if you were not back by 5:00 P.M." Sebastian explained. "It is well after 11:00."

"And what's this I hear about having to pay for damage at a local shoe store?" Demanded Ciel, waving a paper angrily at Rosalind and Madame Red. "Well, what do you all have to say for yourselves?"

Thyme was the first to speak. "One heck of a shopping trip."

**Note: The Madame Red bit at the end has relevance for later on in the story, it wasn't just random. This is my longest chapter yet; Nearly 17 pages in length with over 8,000 words! Reviews are appreciated! *wink***


	13. Along came a Spider

**Thanks so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, or alerted! * hands out two month celebration left overs* **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler. **

Chapter 13: Along came a Spider

Once the group had finished explaining the ordeal they had been through that day, Ciel ordered the police officers to leave. As they left, Rosalind had the impression that Ciel and the police did not get along well. There was an atmosphere of discomfort and uncertainty in the room that was hard to ignore. Rosalind, however, was much too tired to dwell on this fact. As the group proceeded to retire for bed, Thyme accosted Rosalind on the stairs.

"Am I to understand that all of this trouble at the shoe store today was because of _high heels_?" Thyme said with a smirk.

Rosalind scowled. "Oh, shut up."

Thyme seemed taken aback by this.

"Well," she harrumphed, "so much for the legendary older sister hospitality!"

Rosalind's mouth twitched. "Good night, Thyme."

"Sleep well, Rosy."

Everyone slept in the next day and breakfast was served late the next morning.

"…careful with that fork, Batty; you'll get cut just looking at it, it's so sharp!" Rosalind was saying to Batty, as the little girl attempted to use the fork Sebastian had laid out for her.

"Are you sure that you don't have any other silverware that we could use?" Rosalind asked Sebastian for the umpteenth time. His reply was the same once again.

"I am quite sure, Miss Rosemary."

Rosalind's reaction to this was the same as always, causing Sebastian to chuckle internally.

"Very well, then. Thanks anyway. And you _really_ don't need to call me "Miss Rosemary." There are three of us whom go by that name, so it would only make more sense that to avoid confusion if you were to call me by my first name."

"Yes… Miss Rosemary." Sebastian smirked as Rosalind continued to try to persuade him to call her by her given name.

This was a ritual that seemed to occur nearly every morning: Since the first day of the Jack the Ripper case, Rosalind had declared Sebastian's silverware to be "absurdly sharp" and requested for less sharp silverware out of fear that her sisters may harm themselves while using it. Rosalind had actually taken it upon herself to search every drawer in the house for less sharp silverware, but to no avail. And so it was that every morning Rosalind would still insist about the less sharp silverware, to which Sebastian would always reply that there was still none, while addressing her as "Miss Rosemary", to which she would try to convince him to call her by name, but he would never give in to her wishes.

Therefore, at every meal time Rosalind found herself assisting her sisters dine. As a joke, Thyme had asked Rosalind to spoon food into her mouth, before Rosalind had realized that spoons were not sharp enough to pose as an immediate threat towards her sisters, and therefore there was no need to assist them when it came to that. The idea that a human could make such a big deal over what kind of table wear he could use, was definitely a first for Sebastian; something that he found both amusing and annoying at the same time.

Rosalind was now cutting Batty's food for her when-

"Ouch!" She exclaimed suddenly, causing everyone's heads to turn in her direction. Rosalind was clutching her thumb, which was, at the moment, bleeding.

"_Oh, I don't believe it."_ Rosalind hissed, wincing in pain. "We have been here for over a week using this silverware without injury prevailing, and now _this_ happens !"

Noticing the looks of concern coming from Batty, Thyme, and Finny, she said quickly." Ahem. Sorry everyone. I just cut myself, is all."

As Rosalind held up her thumb for closer inspection, Thyme caught side of it and let out a dramatic scream, and then fainted. Finny and Batty ran over to Thyme's side, worried.

"Now, _really_, Thyme." Rosalind moaned in exasperation and annoyance. "There's no need to be like that on my account."

"Um, Rosalind." Batty tugged on her sister's hand, the one that wasn't bleeding. "I don't think Thyme's faking it."

Rosalind's features softened at once and she ran over to where Thyme was immediately. Rosalind leaned down and from where she was verified that Thyme was indeed unconscious.

"Oh dear," Rosalind muttered, guilt consuming her for ever doubting her sister. " Please, someone lie her down on the couch in the sun room immediately; it can't be comfortable lying on the cold hard floor like that. We should also give her a nice cold wash cloth to put across her forehead. Meanwhile, I shall attend to my own wounds. " Rosalind stared at her hand as she spoke; the blood was now trickled from her thumb down to her palm.

"Let's see, I will need some bandages and cotton balls to clot the bleeding, as well as some water and peroxide to prevent infection." Rosalind mused as Finny carried Thyme into the other room. "Now where did I put… Ah yes! They're all in my bag!" Rosalind rummaged through the handmade duck tape bag and pulled out a roll of bandages, cotton balls, and a bottle of peroxide.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Do you always carry around these particular items with you, Miss Rosemary?"

"First of all, would you please stop referring to me as Miss Rosemary? Secondly, in answer to your question, yes; I do indeed carry these products around with me on a regular basis. My sisters and I all seem to be prone to injury most often, so it only makes sense for me to carry certain medical supplies around with me, lest we ever get in an accident, which is always a possibility when it concerns us." Rosalind replied hastily, for the blood was now slithering down her wrist. "Now, would you please direct me to the nearest sink? I do not wish to spread blood everywhere, and it would be most helpful if I could use running water to cleanse my wounds."

"Indeed," Sebastian agreed. "Cleaning up blood is most troublesome, and I do not wish for the young master's new table cloth to go to waste. Right this way, please." Sebastian then escorted Rosalind to the kitchen, where she went about treating her injuries. After Rosalind finished clotting the bleeding, poured the peroxide on her thumb( A rather painful experience that made her grimace forcefully) , and bandaged her hand, she disposed of the cotton balls she had been using and put the rest of the materials back in her purse.

Rosalind then walked into the sun room to see how Thyme was doing. "Is she all right?" Rosalind asked in concern for her sister as she walked into the room. Thyme started to stir on the couch.

"I think she's coming around now," Rosalind murmured as she walked over to the couch. "Thyme? Can you hear me? How are you feeling? Are you all right?"

Thyme moaned. "Eurgh, yeah, I think so. What happened?"

"You fainted when you saw me cut myself." Rosalind reminded her.

"Oh, that." Thyme recollected. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Rosalind assured her. "What about you? Are you sure that you are all right?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Thyme sighed as she started to sit up. Rosalind helped her stand and the dizziness went away quickly. Rosalind, however, didn't feel very good. She was of course, relieved that her sister was okay, but she still felt fairly guilty for ever having doubted her collapse. "Do you want anything to eat or drink, Thyme?" Rosalind asked, determined to make it up to her sister.

"Well, I kind of had a craving just now," said Thyme. "For some of those cookies they sell down by that bakery I like. "

Rosalind jumped up suddenly. "Okay, Thyme, I shall go get you some of those right away!"

"What? But Rosalind, the bakery is 20 blocks away!" Thyme tried to talk her sister out of it. "You know, being as we just had breakfast, I'm not really that hungry anyway."

"Even better," Rosalind was not to be persuaded. "This way by the time I've walked to and from the bakery, you should have built up an appetite!"

"You're going to _walk_ there?" Thyme repeated incredulously. "Rosalind, that's insane! Did you not hear me when I said that it was _20 blocks_ from here?"

"I did," Rosalind replied. "But I need to repent for my sins earlier. Besides, this will be good exercise! Not only that, but it is an absolutely gorgeous day out, and it would be a shame to stay inside on a day such as this!"

"Is that what all this is about?" Thyme said in amazement. "You're trying to make this up to me? Rosalind, you really don't have to-"

"No, Thyme, I want to! Really!" Rosalind was practically begging now.

Thyme shrugged. "It's your funeral."

Midway through her walk to the bakery, two recurring thoughts kept racing through Rosalind's head: _What was I thinking? _ And _Man, I am seriously out of shape! _After these couple of thoughts however, another, more stronger one, would make its way through Rosalind's mind.

_No! I must not think those things! I must keep doing this to redeem myself! I am doing this for Thyme! _

Sometime later, Rosalind finally made her way to her destination: Thyme's favorite bakery. Clutching her side and gasping for air, Rosalind went in. After picking up a little treat for herself- she figured she should buy one to keep her strength up- she bought some treats for Batty and Thyme. (She figured that Batty would want one as well.) Afterwards Rosalind sat down on a bench outside to rest. Thyme most definitely was _not_ kidding about twenty blocks being a long distance by foot.

Rosalind sat still on the bench for several minutes, drinking water and trying to catch her breath. Then she started to eat her treat. She had bought herself a brownie, and as the goodie made its way into her mouth, an overwhelming sensation of its delicious chocolate flavor became her. She was about to take another bite when she heard some shouting from nearby.

"Get out of my store, you disgraceful wench! Lady of the night! How dare you ask me for money?" A slap rang out and several sobs followed.

Rosalind turned her head to the direction of the commotion and found a man coming out of a produce store pushing a young woman wearing an off the shoulder green dress onto the curb.

"P-please, sir!" The woman stammered, eyes filling with tears. "I haven't had a full meal to eat in days! I am ever so hungry! I would be ever so grateful to you if you were to lend me some money! I-I'll pay you back!"

The man let out a roar of anger and frustration and raised a hand, ready to strike the girl at any moment, in fact she was already curling up into a ball as his blow was about to land, when-

"That is quite enough." Rosalind had intervened. She pulled the man's hand back from the girl, who was now looking up in wonder. "What makes you think that you are entitled to hit this girl?"

The man glared at Rosalind, who was refusing to let go of his hand. People were starting to stare. "This _thing_ was begging in my shop!"The man, thundered, waving a finger at the trembling girl.

"So?" said Rosalind.

"SO? The man repeated. "How dare you to talk to me that way? Just who do you think you are?"

"I think the matter at the moment is not about who I am," said Rosalind calmly." But about whom _you_ are. What kind of person lashes out on someone who was merely asking a favor of them? Not a very good one, I should say."

Rosalind's opponent let out a howl of outrage, and brushed Rosalind's hand to the side. "Get your hands off of me, you-"

Fortunately before he could finish that sentence- which undoubtedly would have been something very nasty indeed- Rosalind talked over him.

"You are taking it upon yourself to punish this woman for doing nothing wrong. _People like _you_ disgust me. _I will take it upon myself never to shop at your store again, now that I have seen the kind of management they have, and will happily tell everyone I know about this unjust cruelty. Now, if you don't stop your vulgarity this instant, I shall be forced to notify the local police. "

For one wild moment, the man looked as though he were about to take his frustrations out on Rosalind, but instead chose to storm back inside his produce store, muttering some choice words under his breath. Rosalind ignored him, as well as the crowd that had gathered near them, and walked over to the astonished looking victim of the man from the produce store's wrath.

"Are you all right, Miss?" Rosalind asked the poor girl gently.

The girl blinked in surprise but nodded never the less. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't mention it," Rosalind smiled at her, and then looked closer. This girl seemed to be very familiar, but from where Rosalind could not recall…

"Excuse me, but if you don't mind my asking, what is your name?"

"Mary Jane Kelly." The woman named Mary Jane Kelly replied.

_Mary Jane Kelly,_ Rosalind pondered. Where had she heard that name before? Rosalind then noticed her dress; it was torn and very tight fitting, and looked as if she had had it for quite some time, but had not been able to buy a new one that would fit…

Rosalind suddenly recognized the woman. "Oh!" she said suddenly, causing her to jump.

"You're the woman from the pub the other night, aren't you?"

Mary Jane blinked for a moment before realizing what Rosalind was talking about. "Oh yes, I was! I mean, I am. That lady you were with, the one dressed in red how is she? Is she all right? "

"She's fine," Rosalind assured her. Rosalind then noticed that Mary was staring at her brownie longingly.

"Would you like some?" Rosalind offered.

"Oh, no! I couldn't possibly-"

"I insist," Rosalind broke off a piece and handed it to her. "If what you were saying earlier rings true, then you must be starving. "

Mary took a piece tentatively and put it in her mouth. It tasted wonderful. Rosalind also dug in to her bag and pulled out some coins. "You may take this as well."

Mary's eyes widened in amazement, marveling at the little gold pieces, too stunned to even speak.

"Use it wisely," Rosalind advised kindly and then left.

_Mary Jane Kelly, Mary Jane Kelly, I am sure that I have heard that name before now. Well, hopefully she'll be able to use that money I gave her to buy a decent dress, at least. _Rosalind mused as she walked down the street. Rosalind noticed a culinary store nearby. She remembered the conversations she had been having lately with Sebastian concerning the table wear, and decided maybe she should go buy some for herself. Still pondering about Mary Jane Kelly, Rosalind walked into the store. Somehow table ware had been one of the few things she had _not _packed with her for the trip, and she had practically packed her entire house with her!

After making her purchase, Rosalind stepped out of the store when a familiar voice commented," That was quite some performance you showed out there, Miss Rosemary."

"Sebastian?" Rosalind turned around to find the owner of the voice. "What are you doing here?"

"The young master sent me out to run an errand." Sebastian replied. "I have now completed that errand and was going to return back to the town house."

"What was the errand?" Rosalind inquired.

"I needed to buy some ingredient for today's lunch." Sebastian explained. "Are you finished here?"

"Oh, yes," said Rosalind quickly. "I am. Would you like to go into the bakery? They have some lovely desserts there, if you like. "

"It's a tempting offer," said Sebastian. "But I am afraid that I must decline. I must return home quickly to make preparations for today's lunch. Would you like to come with me?" He motioned to a carriage nearby as he spoke.

Rosalind frowned. "If you really are hungry, you don't need to go home right away, you know. I don't think any of us would mind too terribly if lunch was delayed slightly. Anyway, it would only take a couple of minutes to buy you something, if you'd like. "

"I am perfectly fine," Sebastian assured her. "Now, would you like to take the carriage back to the house, or would you rather walk?"

Rosalind considered walking, being as she was so desperate to repent for her doubt of Thyme's fainting earlier, but being as she felt that her knees would give out at any moment if she declined, agreed to come with him. "Thank you for the offer; I shall come with you." As they walked towards the carriage, a thought occurred to Sebastian. "Miss Rosemary, you were out shopping by yourself according to your sisters yesterday, but they didn't say where. Out of curiosity, where were you?"

Rosalind hung her head so that her lank brown hair covered most of her face and her eyes narrowed to the ground, which she suddenly seemed to find very interesting, but she did not answer the question. Sebastian repeated the question. She stayed silent all the while, never making any hint as to where she'd been. He realized what she was trying to do; she was trying to evade the question, quite stubbornly, in his opinion. Sighing, Sebastian climbed into the carriage, followed by Rosalind shortly afterwards.

They rode on for a while before Rosalind spoke. "Sebastian, can demons eat food?"

"We devour human souls, but yes, we can eat human food, though it is not necessary." Sebastian responded.

"Does human food taste bad to demons?" questioned Rosalind.

"No, some of it can taste quite good actually, it just simply satisfy our hunger the way souls do, is all." Sebastian explained.

Rosalind seemed to be in thought for a while before speaking again. "Sebastian, can demons sleep? Do they have to?"

"Sleeping is something of a luxury for my sort," Sebastian said fondly at the prospect of sleep." Though we generally do not do it often because it is not necessary. "

As the carriage made its way towards the townhouse, Rosalind and Sebastian stepped out of it and went inside. Rosalind found Thyme and Batty waiting eagerly for her.

"Hey, Rosalind! Did you get the goodies?" Thyme and Batty ran up to her immediately.

"Yes, I did," she chuckled.

"YAY!" Batty and Thyme squealed, clapping their hands together.

"Uh-uh, what's the magic word now?" Rosalind chided them, waving her finger playfully.

"Pygmy puff?" Thyme guessed, after a moment's pause.

"Please and thank you." said Batty, giggling at Thyme's answer.

"Correct." said Rosalind, handing them the bags.

Sebastian decided then and there he wasn't even going to ask what a pygmy puff was. Instead, he went into the kitchen to prepare lunch. (Rosalind told the girls they couldn't eat their treats until after lunch or else they'd spoil their appetites, much to their disappointment.)

Ciel, Madame Red, Grell, Batty, Rosalind, Finny, and Thyme all gathered into the drawing room for lunch. Midway through the meal, Batty screamed.

"What's wrong Batty?" Rosalind asked immediately, looking around the room, and then a blood curdling scream escaped her lips.

"What on Earth is the matter with you two?" Even Ciel was surprised at Rosalind's ear piercing shriek. It seemed amazing that Rosalind could make such a noise. It seemed so unlike her. One could easily expect her sisters to scream and shout like that, but not her. Or if she did, it wouldn't be quite as much nor quite as loud.

"Yeah, seriously guys, what's the prob- OH MY GOD, GIANT SPIDER!" Thyme jumped out of her chair in horror, for there, on the table, sat a very large and furry black spider, which was currently flashing its pinchers menacingly. _And it was seated right in front of Thyme. _

"AAAH! " Thyme ran behind Rosalind, who had also stood up. "YOU TAKE CARE OF IT, ROSALIND! YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN THE LEAST SQUEAMISH ABOUT BUGS!"

"SINCE WHEN?"

By now everyone else seated at the table was starting to get uncomfortable about the spider, if only because of the three sisters' reaction. Grell was now shaking uncontrollably, teeth chattering, and Madame Red was scooting her chair back away from the spider as much as possible. Finny, however, was just plain confused. "I don't get it," said Finny, staring at the spider. "How is this little guy scary?"

"L-Little!" Thyme spluttered. "Finny, that guy is about as big as my hand!"

Finny thought about it for a moment. "I can take him off the table for you if you want." Finny suggested, reaching out his hand to the spider. Before any physical contact could be made with the spider, however, Thyme knocked Finny's hand out of the way.

"DON'T DO IT FIN-FIN!" Thyme cried, wrapping her arms around Finny, who had a perplexed look on his face. "I CAN'T STAND TO LOSE YOU, TOO!"

Ciel sighed, pressing his thumb to his temples. "Sebastian, please dispose of that thing. It's giving me a headache."

Sebastian bowed deeply and walked over to wear Finny and Thyme were. (Rosalind and Batty had evacuated to the other side of the room, away from the spider.)

"No, Sebastian!" Thyme put one of her arms out in front of him. "We must face our fears and take care of the spider ourselves!"

"Who said anything about getting rid of the spider?" Ciel said in surprise. "I was talking about you. The spider can stay; it wasn't causing any one any harm."

"Oh, _thank you_." Thyme rolled her eyes. "But joking aside, I can do this."

"What made you think that I was joking?" Said Ciel, but stopped when Rosalind sent a murderous glance in his direction.

"Now Ciel, I really do not wish to do this, but if you keep talking like that, I will have to make sure that _you_ will be the one who is disposed of." Rosalind smiled at him. Sebastian sent a glare in her direction that would normally paralyze his enemies in fear, but Rosalind just ignored him.

"Oh, calm down you lot, there's nothing to be afraid of." Thyme rolled her eyes again and walked over to where the spider was, and _picked it up with her bare hands._

"Nothing to be afraid of?" Rosalind spluttered. "You were the one screaming about how we were all going to die earlier!"

"Oh, that?" Thyme turned to look at Rosalind. "I wasn't screaming because I was scared; I was only screaming for the heck of it and because everyone else was doing it."

"So you could have just taken care of it in the first place." Rosalind deadpanned.

"Yep, pretty much," Thyme replied casually and started stroking the spider's fur. "Now, what should I name this little guy?"

"Thyme," Rosalind growled. "We are _not_ keeping that thing as a pet!"

Thyme sighed as the spider started to crawl up her arm. "Why not?" she asked, completely aware of the fact that the spider was crawling up her arm and completely oblivious to the horrified expressions on everyone else's faces.

"Thyme," Rosalind whispered, pointing to the spider that was now currently on her shoulders. "Stay calm. Are you aware that the spider has now made its way onto your shoulder?"

"Yes," Thyme replied, looking down at her shoulder. "I am aware of that fact, aren't I, *Charnold?"

The spider hissed in response.

"And you are perfectly calm about this, because…" began Rosalind.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Thyme asked puzzled.

"Yeah, we are definitely not keeping the spider." Rosalind decided, mentally scarred after hearing that. "I think it's bad for your mental health, as well as mine."

"Come along Charnold," Thyme sighed, placing the Charnold back in her hands.

"_Don't name it!"_

Thyme walked over to the window; however, instead of throwing him out of the building, she merely placed him in the window box, ignoring Rosalind. "I'll come back for you later, Charnold, okay?"

The spider snapped its pinchers in response, and Thyme winked at it before pulling the rest of her upper body back inside of the room.

As she turned around she saw Rosalind face palm suddenly.

"Something the matter?" She asked.

"The spider scenario just gave me an epiphany," Rosalind muttered. "I realized that I forgot to find you guys a baby sitter for the ball tomorrow night."

"What does "epiphany" mean?" Thyme asked.

"An epiphany," Rosalind explained," is the sudden realization or comprehension of the (larger) essence or meaning of something."

"You lost me after epiphany." said Thyme," But I think I got the gist of it. An epiphany is like realizing that you're in love, the answer to a problem, you are a fictional character created in some weirdo's mind, or something like that. "

"… Sure, why not? Let's go with that." Rosalind decided it was best not to question her sister's examples. "Look, that's not the point."

"What? Were my examples wrong or something?" Thyme wondered.

"No, they were perfectly fine. Well, maybe they could have been better, but-"

"What are you trying to say?" Thyme questioned, worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"The point," Rosalind pressed on loudly. "Is that I need to find you a baby sitter in less than 48 hours. I don't know where we could find one on such short notice… "

"We don't need a babysitter!" Thyme said indignantly. "We have Finny! You said he could be in charge of us while we were away!"

"Yes, I know that Thyme, but this is different." Rosalind explained wearily and turned to face Finny. "Although Finny, you have done a fantastic job so far, we will be going out at night, and I do not know when we will get back. I do not mean to frighten any one, but there is also the possibility of Jack the Ripper coming over here. It is highly unlikely, but the killer may come over here to get to us if he escapes or something. I don't want to leave you three alone on the off chance of that happening."

Silence met this statement, but was broken when Rosalind said suddenly," I will go check all the local babysitting agencies in town, however I do have a back up if we can't get a good one…"

* **Note, Charnold is a nickname that my dad calls my sibling. **

**Here is a preview for next chapter, which is going to be very action packed, very action packed indeed…: Who will Rosalind find as a babysitter for Batty and Thyme? When everyone else gets back, will the house as well as the people in it still be in one piece? Where did Rosalind go on the shopping trip when she made that little detour? Where does she recognize Mary Jane Kelly's name from? And what is the connection between Viscount Druitt's party and time travel? And just what is going on in the time stream anyway? **

**Until next time, please review! **


	14. The start of a long evening

**Thanks so much to those who have reviewed, favorited, or alerted!*hands out cyber donuts***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler. Or Pride and Prejudice. **

Chapter 14: The start of a long evening

"Do you think they're ready yet?"

"I want to see Ciel in a dress!"

"I wonder what they are all wearing."

Finny, Thyme, and Batty were standing by the stair case, waiting for Sebastian, Ciel, Rosalind, Lau, Madame Red, and Grell. The night of the ball held by Viscount Druitt had finally arrived, and now the trio that was not going was waiting at the foot of the stairs in anticipation. Lau was the first to come into the room, wearing a new black suit. Minutes later, Sebastian arrived at the top of the stairs. He would be pretending to be Ciel's tutor tonight. He was dressed in a tan overcoat with pleated black pants, his ever present white gloves, and spectacles that he didn't really need, they just complimented the outfit.

"Young Master, it is time to come out now." he called out behind him. All that was visible of Ciel was a black gloved hand. There was some mumbling in response; evidently Ciel was putting up some resistance.

"You have already agreed to play your role in this, and as a Phantomhive and for the sake of the queen, you must come out."

Not hiding his reluctance in doing so, Ciel came out from the hallway and walked down the stairs, Sebastian having to aid him in his walk so that he would not: A. Change his mind at the last minute and run back upstairs, or B. have trouble moving around in the clothes he was wearing.

Ciel came down the stairs wearing an ankle length flowing white-pink dress adorned with lace frills and fake flowers. On his head he wore a hat with flowers covering the brim to the left side, covering Ciel's eye so that the mark of the contract he made with Sebastian would not show. Underneath the hat was a wig comprised of a set of two raven twintails. His footwear was comprised of a pair of pink high heels, something that both his aunt and even Rosalind had insisted on, much to Ciel's surprise and annoyance.

"_Sorry Ciel," Rosalind had said sheepishly as he glared at her. "But your aunt is right; you really are quite short! It worries me deeply, actually, so I think it's best if you wear the heels, besides you wear shoes with heels on a regular basis; the only difference will be that these are girls' shoes."_

One would think that _she_ of all people would have a little more sympathy what with her incident at the shoe store the other day, and all. Though Ciel supposed he should be a little grateful; she had, after all, talked Madame Red and Sebastian out of forcing him into a corset.

"OHMIGOSH Ciel, you look so cute!" Thyme and Batty squealed and hugged him. Well, actually Batty did most of the hugging being as if Thyme hugged him her super strength combined with her hyperactive energy could easily crush him, which might be a bit bad.

"Ooh, pretty!" Thyme was still able to gush over him from the sides, though.

"Young master, you look so cute!" Finny said, staring at Ciel in amazement. "You're such a pretty girl, young master!"

Thyme and Ciel's heads snapped around at this. "W-what did you just say?" Ciel spluttered.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" Thyme roared.

Finny furrowed his- rather cute- brow, and asked innocently," Nnh? What's wrong?"

"FIN-FIN, DON'T GO FLIRTING AROUND WITH OTHER GIRLS WHEN I'M RIGHT HERE!"Thyme shrieked.

"Hey! I'm not a girl, you know!" Ciel scowled, a tic mark appearing on the side of his head.

"But we wish you were!" Thyme cried, and started to sob.

"What are you crying for?" Ciel asked irritably as Finny wrapped a consoling arm around Thyme's shoulders.

"O-oh Ciel," Thyme sobbed as Finny patted her back gently. "You're so cruel! So, so cruel! A heartless boy like you would never understand! YOU'RE SUCH A CRUEL CUTIE, CIEL!" Thyme wailed, and with that being said buried her face into Finny's shoulder. However, Ciel was sure that he definitely saw Thyme wink at him before she continued to cry some more.

"Whatever," Ciel muttered, not even attempting to understand how Thyme's brain worked.

Madame Red and Grell then walked down the stairs. Grell was dressed as he usually was, whereas Madame Red was dressed in a new dress and hat she had bought recently, both of which were, of course, red; hence the nickname Madame Red. As she came down the stairs, Sebastian took out his golden pocket watch and asked dully," Is she ready yet?"

By "she", Sebastian meant Rosalind.

Madame Red shook her head. "Not yet, but she assures me that she will be ready shortly. I had to help her out a bit though; Lord that girl is useless with a makeup brush…"

Ciel huffed impatiently. "She's been getting ready for over more than three hours now; how long does it take for a woman to get ready for a ball?"

Rosalind, out of fear of something going wrong at the ball that could cause the murderer to target her, had wanted to go in disguise. She had constantly reminded them all over the past several days to make sure to address her at the ball by her alias; Rosemary Williams. Rosalind figured that if something went wrong at the ball and the criminal got away, then he would have a much harder time tracking her down then if she used her real name. Rosalind had dined early that afternoon, finished quickly, and then went up to her room to prepare for the ball, and had not been seen out of her room since.

Rosalind had also felt that it would be a good idea to make herself appear different than she normally did, so that the criminal wouldn't be able to recognize her if he saw her walking down the street. And thus, Ciel, Sebastian, Grell, Finny, Lau, Madame Red, Batty, and Thyme were all waiting for her now.

"Oh my goodness, you look adorable!" Madame Red squealed as she took in Ciel's new appearance. "Oh, just what I always wanted; a cute little niece who would always wear the pretty dresses I picked out for her!"

"I am not your niece tonight- or any other night for that matter, regardless of what I wear I am still completely _male_ after all- but that's beside the point. Though you are my aunt, tonight we will not be travelling as so. Tonight I am Cecelia Williams, younger cousin of Rosemary Williams, remember." Ciel reminded his aunt.

Tonight Ciel would be, as he said, travelling as Cecelia Williams. Though it was unlikely, someone may ask Ciel his name, Rosalind had pointed out, and he would need to have an answer ready. They had decided on Ciel being Rosalind's cousin rather than Madame Red's niece, being as then they wouldn't have to make up a back story that could get proven false if anyone asked how exactly they were related again.

Several minutes past like this, with everyone waiting but Rosalind still not coming down the stairs. Ciel was just about to order Sebastian to go get herm when the door at the front of the stairs opened. Ciel opened his mouth to lecture her, but stopped in surprise. Rosalind had not been joking about trying to look like a different person tonight.

Rosalind wore a flowing, sleeveless white dress that had sparkles that glistened like diamonds. It had a hem that went below the knee but above the ankles, and she wore matching gloves on her arms. Her foot wear was comprised of a pair of recently polished shiny black flats that were both sensible and elegant at the same time. Her hair was sleek and shiny, and all traces of frizziness had been removed. Her hair was piled atop her head into an elegant bun that was held in place by a miniature silver diamond tiara, several silver hair pins, and lots and _lots_ of hair gel. Rosalind was even wearing makeup- something that shocked both of her sisters immensely being as Rosalind _never_ wore make up- as well as a pearl necklace around her neck. She still carried her usual handmade duck tape bag, however she had placed a covering over it so as not to draw attention to herself.

As Rosalind cascaded down the stairs, Thyme ran up to her. "Oh my gosh Rosy, you look like a totally different person! GASP!" Thyme, er, gasped suddenly. "That's because you're not Rosalind, are you? You're an impostor! Who are you and what have you done to my sister criminal?"

"Oh for God's sakes, it's me," Rosalind rolled her eyes though was unable to suppress a smirk at the looks she was getting from everyone as her sister continued to falsely accuse her of identity theft. "I just look different, that's all."

Once everyone- namely Thyme- had settled down and was convinced that Rosalind was who she claimed to be, it was down to business.

"Right then, we have to make sure we get Ciel out of the house before the sitter gets here."Rosalind reviewed.

"I know we have been over this," said Sebastian in an undertone, leaning into Rosalind to make sure the others could not hear. "But was your choice of a sitter for tonight truly the best option?"

Rosalind replied back," Probably not, but she was the only person I could get a hold of. It was too late to find and interview any of the sitters from the local babysitting agencies , and I tried several other options but they were unavailable for tonight. This is the best I can do on such short notice."

Meanwhile a carriage was on its way into London. Inside the carriage a ginger-haired woman peered out the window, adjusting her milk bottle glasses effortlessly. A small smile graced her lips as she placed her hands in her lap. She then tugged on one of the cuffs of her long dark blue sleeves anxiously; she was both eager and nervous at the prospect of her task tonight. As the carriage came to a halt, she stood up, straightened her skirts, wiped her hands on her pinafore and stepped out of the carriage surveying her surroundings.

Meanwhile back inside the house, the group was finishing reviewing the final details for the plan.

"She's here!" Thyme called as a carriage pulled in front of the house.

"All right then, since we can't let her see Ciel dressed like this, Ciel will have to leave out the back door, but first," Rosalind walked over to Ciel and took out a can of pepper spray from her bag.

"Ordinarily, I would not be giving this to a child such as yourself," Rosalind leaned over to Ciel and whispered into his ear. "But being as I feel that you are much more mature than either of my sisters, I think it's safe to say that I can entrust you with this."

Here Rosalind placed the pepper spray in the purse Ciel was carrying with him.

"Just in case," Rosalind murmured and before Ciel could refuse the pepper spray, Sebastian was leading him out the back door.

Just in time too, being as the front door opened a minute later and out came the sitter for tonight, which was-

"Maylene!" Thyme, Finny, and Batty chorused and ran towards her.

"Hello!" Maylene said cheerfully and patted Batty on the head as she hugged her.

"Thank you very much for coming over here tonight, Maylene." Rosalind greeted as she walked over to the maid/babysitter.

"You're welcome miss!" Maylene replied.

"Now, I shall have to leave soon , but I do wish to go over a couple of rules with you, which I have made a copy of if you would like to check them," and with that being said, Rosalind pulled out her list of the rules, now containing 220.

"… The first aid kit is in my bedroom in the _second _drawer to the _left,_ and under no conditions whatsoever are they allowed to use the oven if I am not here. "Rosalind was finishing explaining and reviewing all of the rules, procedures, and guidelines to Maylene, who was both bored and fascinated by the amount of things Rosalind's two younger sisters were not allowed to do.

"Well, then I believe that's everything. Good luck and have a good night." Rosalind finished, kissed Thyme and Batty on their foreheads, and left the house.

As the carriage pulled up in front of Viscount Druitt's mansion, Rosalind, Grell, Sebastian, Madame Red, Lau, and Ciel all stepped out from the carriage and entered the mansion.

Sebastian turned to the others before they walked in. "You all remember your posit-"Sebastian needn't have completed that sentence; Grell, Madame Red, and Lau had already made their way onto the dance floor and Madame Red was currently surrounded by a group of good looking young men.

As Sebastian looked around, he noticed that Rosalind too had left, but not onto the dance floor; instead she was evacuating _away_ from the area, and was at the moment currently trying to make her way up a flight of stairs nearby unnoticed. Sebastian, however, grabbed onto her hand before she could continue.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

"I was, um, I was going to – to go upstairs, to um- yes, and that's it! I was going to investigate the viscount's chambers to see if there is anything in there." Rosalind lied poorly, and turned around to face the stairs. "I'll just be on my way..."

She was about to leave but Sebastian tightened his grip. "My young master is the one supposed to carry out that part of the plan, remember? You are obviously lying. Now what is it you are _really_ intent on doing?"

"I am intent on leaving this party." Rosalind stated bluntly, deciding that there was no use in lying. "I would much rather go into another room by myself, and read a good book, actually. I believe that if I step onto that dance floor nothing but trouble will come of it. As my dancing instructor, you cannot possibly beg to differ, can you?"

Sebastian truthfully could not deny that; Try as he might, he had been unable to teach Rosalind to dance well enough in time for the party. And if the broken vases were any indication, for the safety and overall well being for everyone in the mansion, Rosalind's decision was probably quite wise.

However, the plan could go wrong if Rosalind was upstairs rather than attending the ball, and as Ciel's butler and for the sakes of both the plan and his contract with Ciel, he must not allow Rosalind to leave the ballroom.

"Miss Rosemary," Sebastian sighed. "If your dancing skills- or rather, _lack of them_- are any evidence, your reasoning is quite understandable. However, under the circumstances, it is perhaps best that you remain in the ball room. For the sake of the plan," He added quickly at the look of reluctance on Rosalind's face.

Rosalind seemed to think about it for a moment, and then gave in.

"Fine," she said, turning towards the dance floor. "But for future reference, Sebastian, insulting other people is not a good way to get them to do what you want, and the only reason I am doing this is for the sake of the case!"And with one final snap, Rosalind turned on her heel and stalked away, leaving a frowning Sebastian in her wake.

Sebastian did not understand why Rosalind appeared to be agitated with him, he had only been pointing out the truth after all; Rosalind's dancing skills truly left much to be desired, she had even admitted so herself. So why was it that she had taken offense when he had merely made a comment about it?

He shook his head and sighed. Never mind, he had much more important things to worry about at the moment than an overly sensitive young woman's bruised ego. Such as making sure that his young master reached Viscount Druitt. Speaking of which, where was his young master…?

Sebastian turned around and found Ciel attempting to slip away from the ballroom unnoticed, much like Rosalind had done previously. However, Sebastian suspected that Ciel's motives might perhaps be a little different.

"Young mast-er- mistress," Sebastian corrected himself quickly, though a dark aura surrounded him never the less." Wherever do you think you're going this evening?"

Ciel stared down at his dress and sighed. "Very well then," he muttered, a scowl plastered across his features. "I might as well get this over with."

"That's my young mistress," said Sebastian, an amused smile on his face. "Right this way, please."

As Ciel and Sebastian made their way into the ballroom, they passed by several guests scanning the crowds for any sign of Viscount Druitt. _With any luck we can get this finished sooner rather than later._ Sebastian thought as they continued to search the crowd.

"…Oh my goodness, what pretty dresses!" A sweet voice of a young girl was saying as Ciel and Sebastian walked nearby.

_Not good,_ Ciel thought dully to himself. _I think I'm starting to hear things._

"That head piece is so exquisite!" The sweet voice was continuing to speak.

_Funny,_ Ciel mused to himself, a small smile crossing his face. _That voice almost sounds like Elizabeth's…_ and then _I really do not want my fiancée to see me like this._

Fortunately though, Lizzie could not possibly be here at the party. Still though, just to be safe, Ciel and Sebastian craned their heads over to where the source of the conversation was coming from.

They stopped dead in their tracks: A young girl with very thick and wavy golden twintails and bright green eyes who was at the moment conversing with several grown women stood before them. Elizabeth Middleford was attending Viscount Druitt's party. This was most definitely not part of the plan.

" Oh my goodness, these dresses truly are ever so beautiful!" Lizzie went on complimenting the women. "I feel ever so happy to be surrounded by such pretty dresses! Everything here, it's all so- so- cute!"

Lizzie was at the moment, wearing a vibrant red dress and her hair was adorned with fake flower petals with a matching red headband. The most distinctive part of Lizzie's appearance, however, was not her trademark set of twintails, or her crimson red dress, but rather the radiant smile plastered across her face. Lizzie adored balls and was evidently enjoying herself immensely. However, Ciel did not have time to dwell on this fact for long, however, before Lizzie spoke again.

"Ah! You there in the pink!" Lizzie's voice called out suddenly, and her finger was pointing in his direction.

"My Lady, come this way," Sebastian said quickly, grabbing Ciel by the hand before he could object, and turning him away from Lizzie before she could recognize who it was. Escorting Ciel away from the general area, Sebastian thought they were rid of Lizzie when they heard a familiar voice again.

"Excuse me! Please wait up," Lizzie's voice called again as she ran towards them. "I was only going to compliment you on your dress-"

Sebastian looked around the room quickly for a possible hiding spot, and found a spot hidden behind a table with a cake on it in the corner of the room.

"Oh, wherever did that child go?" Lizzie wondered, coming near the cake. After a moment's hesitation, however, she decided to go in the other direction; never noticing Ciel and Sebastian's hiding spot all the while.

"I see you have run into some trouble?" A familiar voice enquired from behind them. Sebastian and Ciel whipped their heads around to find Rosalind perched in a chair behind them, eating a slice of cake with a book in hand.

Sebastian forced a strained smile onto his face. "Miss Rosemary, I believe that you had said not a moment ago that you would be joining us, rather than being a wallflower?"

"I agreed to enter the ballroom," Rosalind replied. "I never said anything about actually dancing, however."

Sebastian twitched. She had a point there. Now however, was probably not the time to try to persuade a stubborn Rosalind into dance. No, for now, he must focus on avoiding Lady Elizabeth and finding Viscount Druitt; if anyone at the party were to recognize Ciel, everything would go downhill from there.

Deciding the best way to about this was probably not to stand around hiding behind a cake all night; Sebastian cautiously led himself and Ciel away from the vicinity.

As Ciel and Sebastian left, Rosalind returned to her cake and to her novel. Rosalind had brought three books with her in her bag; one was a nonfiction book focusing on the medical field, another was a book of complex mathematic and scientific equations, and the third, the one she was reading right now, a fictional novel entitled _Pride and Prejudice. _

Books were always a source of both calm and comfort for Rosalind, what with their enticing pages enabling her to escape reality temporarily when she most needed to do so. Quite fascinating they were, too.

Rosalind decided on reading _Pride and Prejudice_. A good dose of fiction with some events happening in the novel that she could relate to was just what she needed at the moment. With book in hand and cake in her mouth, Rosalind was as at peace as she could be in a place such as this. She had her own sanctuary of sorts, at the moment having two things she enjoyed thoroughly: cake and a book.

She was in her own personal sanctuary, no, a bubble. Being near everything that was going on but not being involved in it, so close yet so far away all at once.

Now she could escape Viscount Druitt's mansion and instead travel into the world of outspoken Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy…

But then someone came along and popped that bubble.

"My, my, what is an elegant swan such as yourself doing all alone? " A tall handsome man with shoulder length platinum blond hair had walked over to where Rosalind was sitting. He had clear grey eyes; so clear, in fact, that one could easily see his true intentions if they bothered to look in deep enough, which is exactly what Rosalind, did.

"Reading." Rosalind replied curtly. _Did this man actually just refer to me as a swan? _

"Oh? It seems a pity that a fine maiden such as yourself should spend her time focused on such a tedious activity." The man leaned in closer to Rosalind as he spoke, and as he did so, took a gloved hand up to his face. "Or am I wrong when I say maiden? Hm, I see no ring on your finger."

"My marital status is no business of yours," said Rosalind, taking her hand away from the man's grasp. "And I would appreciate it very much if you would not touch me."

The clear-eyed man looked stunned for a moment, and Rosalind was silently hoping that he would take the hint and go away. Rosalind had a bad feeling about this man…

"Well then, would thy maiden care to dance?" The platinum haired man asked, holding out his hand to Rosalind.

Rosalind blinked. Seldom times had men asked her to dance, and as thus she was unsure of the best way to respond. _I do not particularly wish to dance at the moment, I would much rather read my book instead. However, at the same time, I do not wish to offend or hurt this fellow's feelings. What would Elizabeth Bennet do in my position? Ah, while being polite but firm, I must humbly decline…_

"I am terribly sorry sir," Rosalind tried. "But I do not particularly care to dance at the moment. I appreciate your offer, though." Rosalind added quickly so as not to hurt the silver haired man's feelings; perhaps the bad vibes she was sensing from the man were mistaken and he merely wished to dance with her, and perhaps she had been a little harsh towards him earlier when speaking to him. Regardless, however, Rosalind did not wish to engage in the act of dancing and sincerely hoped that she had handled that well and that the man would understand.

The gentleman was nonplussed. "Why ever not?" demanded he. "Madam, my fair swan, do you not know who I am?" By now a small crowd was starting to form as he spoke.

"I am afraid I do not," said Rosalind, who although judging by some of the looks she was receiving probably should have recognized this man, was not intimidated in the least. "What pray tell is your name?"

"I," the man declared loudly so that anyone within a twelve foot radius could hear even over the sounds of music and chatter what he was saying. "Am Alistair Chambers; Lord Viscount of Druitt!"

Rosalind's feelings of mistrust were acting up strongly towards this man; even if this man was not the culprit behind the Jack the Ripper murders, the fact that accusations alone were made against him could only mean that he was a man not to be trusted in the slightest. _Great Rosalind, you just offended a man suspected of being a possible serial killer. Note the sarcasm. Despite the fact that you did nothing wrong and this man is just far too egotistical for his own good, perhaps it was not the best of ideas…_

When Rosalind said nothing to this statement, the viscount hesitated a moment before saying, "Well?"

"Well what?" Rosalind asked as she tried to find her place in the book again.

"What do you make of that?" The viscount questioned, wondering why Rosalind was not showing any signs of emotion upon learning his identity.

"Your name? It's quite nice," said Rosalind nonchalantly, turning a page in her book as she spoke. "I'll be sure to keep it in mind the next time I am attending a social event such as this."

_Not bloody likely. _Rosalind added in her thoughts, eyes glued to the page she was focusing on.

Rosalind felt that if she acted as she normally would in a situation like this, he would hopefully leave her alone. If she showed any signs of fear, it could give her away. She must not let this man intimidate her. 

Meanwhile the Viscount was staring at Rosalind with wide silver eyes. He was quite popular, so it was seldom that people did not recognize him. It was even rarer for people not to care. On very few occasions had a woman ever turned him down; women in those days were not expected to do such a thing. Although it was customary for a man to ask a woman to dance, women did not really have a choice in the matter; they were expected to accept automatically unless they already had a partner they were dancing with. He claimed to love all women, of course, but Rosalind's initial refusal to him was outrageous for the time period, yet at the same time he found it very…intriguing.

"Oh, my lovely swan," The viscount swooned so suddenly that Rosalind looked up from the page she was reading. "Fly into my arms like the fine bird that you are!"

"What the-?" Rosalind was taken aback by this. Had she not just turned him down but a moment earlier and had he not been angry? And now, out of nowhere, he was fawning over her? Sebastian's words from earlier came flooding back to her.

_The viscount of Druitt is said to have a fondness for all girls and women, whether they be plain or pretty, young or old, princess or pig, he is said to have an obsession with anything that walks on two legs and has certain female reproductive parts…_

It was then and there that Rosalind decided that this man was completely mad.

"Oh, my love," The viscount went on, sighing. "Where have you been all my life?"

"Hiding from you," Muttered Rosalind, looking for a way out of the situation.

Meanwhile Sebastian, who had been watching the scene before him unfold, sighed and adjusted his mirror less glasses, at the moment he had three main priorities: 1. Prevent Rosalind from murdering the viscount. 2. making sure that his young master stayed away from Lady Elizabeth. And 3: Make sure that Ciel got a chance to talk to Viscount Druitt so he could obtain the information they were looking for.

Sebastian shook his head. It was going to be a long evening.

**Okay, so the action part should begin next chapter… hopefully. Anyway, you're welcome to review! *winks***


	15. Black and Yellow

**Thanks so much too everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or alerted so much! *Hands out cyber muffins***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler**

Chapter 15: Black and Yellow

"I would go to then of the world for you, my swan!"

"Would you please stay there?"

These were the words coming out of the mouths of Viscount Druitt and Rosalind Rosemary, though tonight she was travelling under the alias of Rosemary Williams. Rosalind had caught the viscount's attention within the last several minutes and already was getting irritated. Sighing, she got up out of her chair- she figured that all hopes of peaceful reading and cake had gone down the drain now- and walked across the room, away from the deluded viscount.

"Come back to me, my love!" The viscount cried, following Rosalind as she walked away at top speed. "Please don't go!"

Rosalind's pace steadily increased as she walked, determined to get away from this man if it was the last thing she ever did… and perhaps give him a good kick, as well.

Trying to disappear into the crowd Rosalind looked for a place the viscount would not find her. Spotting Sebastian and Ciel nearby, Rosalind caught their eye and tried to make her way in the crowd over to them, when a voice cried out,

"Hi Rosalind!"

Rosalind stopped dead in her racks. No one was supposed to know who she was, so who was this? Rosalind turned to the direction of the voice and found Elizabeth Middleford bounding towards her.

"Lizzie, how did you know who I am?" Rosalind lowered her voice to a whisper as Lizzie came over. Was her disguise not foolproof?

"Oh, just your expression," Lizzie said cheerfully, giggling at the surprised look on Rosalind's face.

Rosalind looked around quickly, hoping that no one had heard Lizzie address her by her real name, though it appeared that nobody had noticed.

"Is Ciel here?" Lizzie asked suddenly, green eyes glistening with hope at the prospect of seeing her fiancé. Rosalind could have sworn she actually saw Lizzie's ears perk up, and her twintails bob.

_It's always about Ciel with this girl, isn't it? _Rosalind thought to herself, unable to help but feel slightly amused at the look of exaggerated hope in the young girl's eyes and the expression of hyper-active eagerness on her face. _She did ask about him on the boat ride, as well…_

Then a much more serious, much more painful thought occurred to Rosalind: Lizzie could not know that Ciel was here. It could ruin everything if she recognized her fiancé while he was wearing his disguise. Rosalind would have to lie; again.

Feeling as if she was kicking a lost puppy, Rosalind said, not looking Lizzie in the eye, said, "I'm sorry Lizzie; Ciel is not here." Rosalind tried to avoid putting emphasis on Ciel's name, despite her efforts to remain truthful. Technically, _Ciel Phantomhive_ wasn't at the ball; technically, _Cecelia Williams_ would be travelling in his place.

Rosalind still felt guilty though. The look of disappointment on Lizzie's face was enough to make anyone feel remorseful.

One awkward silence later though, Lizzie's mood brightened up at once. "Ah! Rosalind, your sisters; are they here?"

"Er-"Rosalind was beginning to feel worse by the minute. "Well, um, they are-"

"Aha! My love, there you are! Oh, why did you ever run away from me, darling?"

Rosalind blanched and turned her head in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, Viscount Druitt was coming towards her.

"My, my, and who is this lovely young lady you have right here?" The viscount asked suddenly, taking notice of Lizzie's presence in the room.

Sebastian's voice echoed through Rosalind's mind again. "_The viscount of Druitt is said to have a love for beautiful young ladies…" Oh dear…_

Meanwhile, Sebastian and Ciel, who were standing nearby stood there, watching the scene unfold.

"Young mistress, perhaps the best course of action would be to leave this scene at once," Sebastian whispered to Ciel. "If your fiancée were to recognize you, it would surely soil the Phantomhive name. We can go find the viscount again later. This way…"

"No!" Ciel said, much to Sebastian's surprise.

"Young mistress…"

"No," Ciel repeated firmly. "I need to make sure that Elizabeth is all right. You and I both know what kind of reputation that man has."

Sebastian nodded. "Indeed, my young mistress."

Back to Rosalind, Elizabeth, and Viscount Druitt.

"My, my, and who is this lovely young lady?" The Viscount asked.

Before Lizzie opened her mouth to answer, Rosalind said coldly," That is truly none of your concern, sir. I must ask that you leave at once, and let us be or I shall be forced to contact the local authorities."

Lizzie gaped at Rosalind, thoroughly confused as to why she was treating the viscount so coolly,

while the viscount blinked.

" You would dare threaten me in my own home?" he growled out angrily, but the next moment he was back to his infatuation. "Oh, you naughty swan, you, perhaps that is what makes you so irresistible; I adore you, my love!"

"Elizabeth," Rosalind muttered to Lizzie while the viscount continued to rave. "I highly recommend leaving the area. This man and I have some business to take care of."

Lizzie didn't need telling twice and, though unsure as to what was going on, sped over to gape at some pretty dresses.

Meanwhile at the drinks table, Ciel breathed a mental sigh of relief. His fiancée was safe. Good. Although admittedly Elizabeth did tend to get on his nerves quite a bit at times, losing her would not be all that great either. He did not know what he would do with himself if something happened to Lizzie…

Once Elizabeth had left, Rosalind turned on Viscount Druitt. "I am not joking sir," Rosalind hissed, feeling her blood boil, "when I say that I am armed with pepper spray, and will use it if necessary." A song started up as Rosalind reached into her bag, seriously considering pulling out her pepper spray, when-

"May I have this dance, Miss Rosemary?"

Rosalind's head whipped around to find Sebastian right behind her a perfectly calm and polite smile spread across his face.

Rosalind was bewildered by this, but being as she was desperate to escape the viscount, said,

" Please do."

Sebastian held out his arm for her and, determined to get away from the now spluttering viscount, she linked arms with him. It wasn't until they made their way onto the dance floor, however, that Rosalind realized what she had gotten herself into.

"Thank you Sebastian, but I do believe I will be fine without having to resort to activities such as dancing." Rosalind said quickly, eyes scanning the room for a place she could retreat without having to run into Viscount Druitt nor having to or being expected to dance.

"Oh, I highly suggest you do so," said Sebastian, and he lowered his voice to an undertone. "I have some important matters to discuss with you, Miss Rosemary, and it will be more discreet if we do it while dancing."

Rosalind understood why Sebastian wanted to talk while doing this; they would be close together so that other people would not be able to hear what they were talking about. (Rosalind did not object to Sebastian referring to her as "Miss Rosemary" being as her alias's first name was Rosemary.)

Sebastian held out his hand for Rosalind to take. Rosalind remained silent, however, took hold of his hand anyway.

As Sebastian and Rosalind started to dance, he said softly so that nobody else could hear," Miss Rosemary, might I suggest not threatening our host with pepper spray?"

Rosalind scowled. "Sebastian, that man is an absolute creep. While I understand that perhaps my actions were a bit hasty, I make no promises of _not_ using means of defending myself if the situation demands it. If I feel the situation demands it, I can and will use means of defending myself. Just because I am a woman is no reason to think or expect me to be weak and helpless; because I am not. While I appreciate you helping me out back there, I could easily have handled that myself. "

"Miss Rosemary, believe me when I say that I have never once thought of you, from the moment I met you, as being helpless." Sebastian replied coolly, and Rosalind felt her eyebrows shoot to the top of her head " I was merely suggesting earlier that it would not be the best choice of action to have us thrown out of the party without even having the chance to investigate."

"Did you really mean what you said?" Rosalind asked quietly.

"About not insulting our host?" Said Sebastian. "Yes, I did."

"No, not about _that_." Rosalind sighed. "I meant about not assuming that I am weak due to my gender."

"I meant every word of it." Sebastian whispered into her ear. "But we have more important things to focus on right now than my opinions. Right now, my young mistress should have reached the viscount and will convince him to take Cecelia Williams to parts of the house to investigate. Ah, I believe I see them now."

Ciel made his way over to Viscount Druitt nervously. _Remember the case, it's for the case._ He kept reminding himself sternly, as he plastered what he assumed to be a girlish smile onto his face. He was unsure what to say, but the Viscount spoke first.

"Why, hello there dear robin." He greeted.

"Um, hello," Ciel mumbled, blushing in reply.

"Are you enjoying the festivities tonight, my dear robin?" The viscount inquired.

"This ball is wonderful, I'm impressed. However, "Ciel smiled. " I've always wanted to speak with you, viscount."

"Oh," The viscount raised an eyebrow.

"I'm already tired of all the dancing and the dining." Ciel pouted.

A sinister smile spread across the viscount's chiseled features. "You are quite a stubborn one, Robin."

His hand traveled down Ciel's waist suddenly. It took everything Ciel had not to slap the viscount's hand away. _Endure; I must endure all of this. I can have this man murdered later. _

"You wish to do more pleasurable things?" The viscount asked smoothly.

"Oh, then does the viscount of knowledge of these pleasurable things?" Ciel asked innocently.

"Why, of course!" The viscount exclaimed, and then studied Ciel more closely. "Though you do seem to be a bit young for some of those things, perhaps…"

"What is this pleasurable thing?" Ciel asked naively.

The viscount smirked. "You want to know?"

Meanwhile across the other side of the room, Ciel noticed Elizabeth heading in his direction; evidently her search for the girl in the pink dress was not over yet.

"Please," Ciel demanded suddenly, latching onto the viscount's arm. "I- I am most eager to learn!"

"Your time still me a bit too early…" The viscount mused.

"I am already a lady," Ciel insisted.

As the song slowed, Sebastian noticed Elizabeth coming towards Ciel. Rosalind had not heard the conversation occurring between Ciel and the viscount; otherwise she would have stormed right over there and slapped the viscount. She did, however, see them and Elizabeth heading towards Ciel.

"Excuse me," Sebastian muttered, letting go of Rosalind suddenly. "Stay here; I have something up my sleeve."

Right at that moment Rosalind started to walk away. Sebastian was, at first, confused, but then realized his mistake.

"I must beg of you to please stay here, Miss Rosemary." he corrected himself.

Rosalind beamed at him, as if his tone of command earlier had not been used. "But of course, I'll gladly stay here." She added," You need only ask."

Sebastian nodded and, trying not to be too annoyed at Rosalind, made his way over to the middle of the dance floor.

"Is something troubling you, dear robin?" The viscount tilted Ciel's chin in his hand up to his face. He had been noticing Ciel's fereverant glances in Elizabeth's direction.

"Oh, um, nothing," Ciel said quickly.

Just then right in the middle of the dance floor (everyone had cleared off before this happened being as the song had just ended) a cupboard fell out of the air, and Sebastian came with it. (And by came, as in he jumped out of nowhere along with it.)

Murmuring filled the crowd at this turn of events.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Sebastian announced calmly. "May I have your attention please? The ball is at its peak, so at this time may all the gentlemen and ladies watch this magical performance I shall do with this cupboard!"

Sebastian then pointed to a person in the audience. "That gentleman, can you assist me?"

Lau smiled. "Me? Why, of course."

By now Sebastian had the entire audience's attention.

"This is an ordinary cupboard. I will now enter it."

Meanwhile, Viscount Druitt was pondering the performance, confused.

"That's odd," he mused. "I don't remember having arranged a performance...?"

It was then that Ciel realized that this was his chance.

"Viscount," he said suddenly. "I am tired of watching these shows, too. Could you please show me a tour of the house?"

The viscount beamed at him; a sight that would permanently scar him for the rest of his life.

"Why, of course, dear Robin!" The viscount agreed. "Come, right this way."

And while the audience was so fixated on the performance, Ciel and the viscount were able to slip away from the crowd unnoticed.

Meanwhile Sebastian was still continuing with his performance.

"After I go into the cupboard, tie it up tightly with these chains. " He instructed to Lau. "And then these swords will be used to pierce the cupboard. "

Here he pulled out several swords and threw one of them at the cupboard. The audience gave an intake of breath.

"After I do this, I shall come out alive for all to see. There is no trap or trick behind this. Please watch this rare magic performance!" Sebastian stepped into the cupboard and closed it.

Lau then threw swords from all angles into the cupboard. The audience gasped loudly. The cupboard door open, and out stepped Sebastian; smiling, and all in one piece. The crowd burst into applause and thus ended the performance.

Sebastian made his way over to the crowd, and saw a certain person wearing a white ball gown moving out onto the terrace. He went out onto the terrace and found Rosalind sitting on one of the porch chairs with her nose in a book and a pencil in her hand. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was a book of complex scientific and mathematical equations.

"Miss Rosemary?" Sebastian asked.

"I think this algebraic expression is trying to tell me something." Rosalind muttered, as she inspected the problem.

"Pardon?" Whatever Sebastian had expected Rosalind to say, it most definitely wasn't that.

"Ah! Sebastian!" Rosalind looked up from her book, evidently not expecting to see him there. "Oh, sorry, you startled me! I was so caught up with these problems that I had not sensed your presence…"

Sebastian was not sure how to respond to that.

An awkward silence fell before Rosalind spoke again" That was quite some performance you put on back there."

"Thank you."

"Please, tell me one thing though; what was the trick behind all of that?" Rosalind asked, leaning forward as she tried to keep the curiosity out of her tone.

Sebastian blinked. "I am afraid that I do not know what you mean."

"Oh, come now," Rosalind said with a laugh. "You can't possibly expect me to believe that all of that was real, completely unstaged. Surely there must have been some sort of trick behind it?"

Sebastian smiled. "I assure you, Miss Rosemary, there truly was no trick behind it," Sebastian replied. "You see, I am simply one hell of a butler."

Rosalind nodded. "Indeed?" She said with a smile.

Then another thought occurred to her. "Sebastian, when we were dancing earlier, I avoided collision with you or anyone, I barley stepped on your toes at all, yet since I have been studying dance with you, I have not once improved in the slightest. Care to explain how all that happened?"

"Again, for future reference Miss Rosemary, I am simply-"

"One hell of a butler, yes I know," Rosalind tapped her foot impatiently." However, I would appreciate an answer a little more detailed than that. "

"I used my demonic powers," Sebastian lowered his voice to an undertone on the off chance that someone in the ballroom could hear them." I used my demonic powers for us to dance in a way without drawing attention. You did not move on your own very much to begin with, so it was simple enough for me to lead and do most of the dancing."

Rosalind frowned; a small part of her had foolishly hoped and believed that in her time under Sebastian's dancing lessons she may have improved slightly, however evidently this was not the case; Sebastian had done the majority of the dancing and she had not improved at all.

Anger replaced disappointment soon, however.

"And just what do you mean by "leading" Sebastian?" Rosalind said suddenly, her tone clipped and cold.

"I simply mean that I was the first to begin dancing and carried out many of the steps first," Sebastian stated flatly. "I assure you, that there was no other meaning behind it, Miss Rosemary. I am in no way, shape, or form, implying that I am in control of you or that you are meant to follow me."

More silence followed as Rosalind returned to the pages in her book. She loved complex problems such as these; these were the types of equations that would have, and quite often did, leave most people mystified by her obsession with them. Rosalind personally loved the challenges the book offered her, even the most utterly annoying, most utterly complex ones that would quite understandably make some people- such as Thyme- burst into tears over them. Still though, Rosalind quite liked challenges; especially the feeling of pride that would well up in her chest after finally solving one that caused her a particular amount of difficulty.

Tonight, however, as Rosalind stared down at the equations that lay before her, she suddenly found that she was having some trouble concentrating. _How odd,_ she mused with a frown after a few more minutes of this before placing the book back in her bag. She had been hoping that the workbook would take her mind off her location at the moment, but evidently it had not.

Perhaps she should try focusing on a different activity.

Instead of solving expressions and equations, Rosalind took out from her bag the list of rules for her sisters, now containing 250. (She had thought of some more on the way over.)

As Rosalind lifted her pen to the paper, Sebastian commented," I don't believe that can be very good for your nerves, you know."

Rosalind lifted up her head in surprise at the sound of his voice. "Pardon?"

"What I mean to say is," said Sebastian." Is that ever since you began that list, it was intended to protect your sisters so that you would not have to worry as much. Am I right?"

Rosalind nodded for him to go on, but said nothing.

"Well, ever since you started that list, your nerves seem to be the worse for the wear. Might I suggest finishing that list another time, instead of right now, Miss Rosemary?"

Rosalind frowned, not wanting to give in to him, but at the same time silently admitting that he may have a point. She compromised on not working on the list but not putting it away at the same time.

"Sebastian, what's your favorite color?"

Sebastian turned to face Rosalind, taken aback by the random question. "Pardon?"

"What's your favorite color?" Rosalind repeated.

Sebastian looked at her face for a moment, trying to determine whether or not she was actually serious; she was. He thought about it for a moment, before answering. "

Black," he decided. "Definitely black."

"Why?" Rosalind asked.

"It's the color I wear most often," he replied. "It's everything I am and everything I stand for, really; darkness, the underworld. I am a demon, after all. "

"Ah," Rosalind mused. "I see."

Sebastian, unsure of what to say next, questioned," And what about you? What is your favorite color, Miss Rosemary?"

He had perhaps expected her to say white, being as that was the color of the gown she was wearing, but instead she answered immediately, "Yellow, without a doubt, yellow."

Sebastian blinked; he was most certainly not expecting that; she seemed to have a more of a "brown" personality to him, if personalities had colors and were any indication of a person's color preferences. He pondered about their answers for moment; black and yellow. The two colors were very different, but not complete opposites either. And they often went well together. Intersting.

"Why is that your favorite color, Miss Rosemary?" He inquired out of curiosity. "And why do you seem to be so sure of that fact?"

"Because it is the color of my sisters' hair." Rosalind replied without hesitation.

Sebastian stared at her for a moment, wondering if she was joking, but there was no sarcasm, or any form of irony in her voice. She wasn't even awkward about saying it in the slightest.

Seeming lost in thought, barley even registering the fact that he was there, she went on," They're why I'm going to medical school you know; all for them."

Sebastian stared at her in surprise; he had not been aware of this fact. "I was unaware that you were a medical student, Miss Rosemary."

Rosalind nodded. "I am. I am trying to obtain a license to practice medicine. Ever since Thyme was… in the lab, she's been scared of all doctors. She knows that not all doctors are bad like those wretched, cruel, evil… _people-_ " (Rosalind corrected herself quickly, before saying the much less pleasant adjective that was about to come out of her mouth.)

Her fists clenched, and she went on, with hatred and animosity clear in her voice,

"No, those… _things_ who did this to her, but she's still quite fearful of doctors and hospitals. When we were first… reunited again, Thyme was unable to exert self-control over her enhanced strength. Needless to say, she broke objects quite often, and sometimes became injured in the process. I tried to treat her injuries to the best of my abilities- and at the time, I knew a certain amount about first aid and medical care- , but I wanted to make sure I could always be there for her. And I wanted to be there in case Batty ever hurt herself one day as well. I knew how Thyme despised visiting the doctor's- it brought back too many painful memories- so… I decided to apply for a medical license. I signed up for medical classes The Agency was offering, and am in the midst of the course at the moment."

Rosalind then proceeded to reach inside her bag and pulled out a textbook entitled _Medical Studies for the Intermediate/Advanced,_ and handed it over to Sebastian.

"This is one of the course books," She informed him. "You may have a look at it, if you like."

As Sebastian stared at the cover, he asked," Miss Rosemary, would you please explain to me some more about what your role is in The Agency?"

Rosalind obliged. "Well, I am a student in courses about the human body, as well as in several other areas. There are schools within The Agency that Thyme and I attend. Many of those courses relate to time travel and our jobs in some way. Some of those classes include," Physics", or as Thyme prefers to call it," God's Holy Law of thy Universe."

Rosalind chuckled at this.

"History Through the Ages- Past, Present, and Future- is another course Thyme and I both take, though I am at a more advanced level than she is. Thyme has renamed it as "Everything that can go Wrong and What Not to do in Time travel."

Rosalind chuckled again. "That's probably a more accurate description of the class, actually. Come to think of it, I believe Thyme has renamed all of our courses…

Anyway, we go on filed missions too, it's not all just theory. I myself am members of organizations that work within The Agency that are trying to lead certain movements that occur in the future to happen sooner. "

"Why are you a member of those movements?" Sebastian was surprised that the question came out of his mouth. "And what movements in particular?"

"Equal rights movements," Rosalind stated. "Women's rights, animal rights, racial rights… if you name it, then I'm probably involved somehow. As for my reasons, well first of all, it is part of my job, I am a member of The Agency after all, so I suppose a better question would be why I joined The Agency in the first place. "

Sebastian waited for her to respond again and when she did, she said,

" I am a member of those particular organizations because I want to make a difference in this world; I want it to be a better place for my sisters, and the people I care about. I… want to raise them to be the wonderful, loving, caring, strong people who they already are and I have faith that they will continue to be. I don't want them to be limited by the low expectations society has for them. In this time, in this place, where marrying a rich man is the most a woman can hope for… I hope they know and prove the world wrong. I hope for them to realize that that skyline is not the limit. I hope for them to realize that there's so much more to life than the expectations society has about women, and that their gender shouldn't interfere with their own hopes and dreams. "

"I want them to be able to like and accept themselves for who they are, and not let the words of others put them down. It agitates me to pieces that people say a women's life can't have action in it, like a man's, and that the horizon is ever our limit. I want Thyme and Batty to live their lives the way _they _want to, not how everyone else wants them to. Because, really, they are absolutely, wonderful, amazing, and I… I love them so much."

Sebastian was clearly forgotten by now, Rosalind was in a trance. She came out of it suddenly, and proclaimed," I think I shall have more of that delicious cake now! It really is quite good; would you like me to get you some?"

Sebastian shook his head. "No thank you."

Rosalind gathered up her things and went back inside, in search of cake.

Sebastian sat there in silence when a figure came up to him. No, _came_ was not the right word, Sebastian had only closed his eyes for a fraction of a second when the figure appeared before him.

She was a teenage girl, probably about fifteen, with a short, curly blonde bob cut, and baby blue eyes. She was panting slightly, but managed to breathe out to Sebastian," Keep any eye on Rosalind tonight."

Sebastian frowned. Who was this girl? "Who are-"

"Please!" The girl spoke suddenly, frantically, almost begging. "Keep any eye on her."

"What-"

"Batty?" Rosalind had stepped back onto the terrace; cake in hand, eyes wide. "Batty? Is that you?"

**Dun- Dun Dun! Here are some questions for next time: What is Batty doing here, and why is she about ten years older than she is now? And what's this about traveling into the next century? (Note, you may want to reread chapter 10: Invasion of the Dolls, for this.) And now, a much more pressing matter that should concern us all: What have Thyme, Finny, Maylene, and Batty been doing all this time? **

**Btw, for those wondering, I was inspired by the song Yellow, by Coldplay, when writing this. (Though this is not a song fic) Actually, there may be quite a few Coldplay songs that describe the sibling relationship between the Rosemary sisters, such as **_**Talk**_** and **_**Fix You**_**... **

**Anyway, now that I'm done rambling, please review! **


	16. Chapter 16 Always

**First off, I would just like to say I am SO sorry! I had no idea it would take this long… at all. I'll be sure to try to update sooner. Anyway, thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or alerted! Anyway, Happy Holidays everyone!*hands out holiday celebrations* Note, the italics at the beginning are where we left off from last time…**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING…. Except for my OCs. Also, the song used in this chapter was inspired by Doctor Who, and I do not own Doctor Who or the original nursery rhyme that the one in Doctor Who was based off of as well. **

Chapter 16: Always 

_Sebastian sat there in silence when a figure came up to him. No, came was not the right word, Sebastian had only closed his eyes for a fraction of a second when the figure appeared before him._

_She was a teenage girl, probably about fifteen, with a short, curly blonde bob cut, and baby blue eyes. She was panting slightly, but managed to breathe out to Sebastian," Keep an eye on Rosalind tonight."_

_Sebastian frowned. Who was this girl? "Who are-"_

"_Please!" The girl spoke suddenly, frantically, almost begging. "Keep any eye on her."_

"_What-"_

"_Batty?" Rosalind had stepped back onto the terrace; cake in hand, eyes wide. "Batty? Is that you?"_

"Batty?" Rosalind repeated all thoughts of cake long forgotten. "What are you doing here?"

She took in sight of the girl who could only be her little sister, except older by about ten years, give or take. This Batty adorned black gloves, and a mauve pinstriped gown, scooped neck and with short poofy sleeves. Rosalind's heart raced what could her sister possibly be doing here? Rosalind's experience in time travel automatically made her conclude that there was only one logical, possible explanation for this; it was not her little sister who was back at the house, but her sister from the future. She also realized however, that her sister must have a reason for being here; and she was determined to find out what that reason was.

"Batty," there was a tone of urgency in Rosalind's voice now. Her sister may have came here to warn them about something. "Is everything all right? What's going on?"

Rosalind did not receive an answer, however. Batty's eyes widened for a moment, before she suddenly leaped off of the balcony and ran off into the darkness. Rosalind ran after her.

The balcony wasn't located high above the ground at all in the slightest, however Rosalind chose to run down the terrace steps instead of jumping off; gymnastics and flexibility had never been her strong suits, and she highly doubted she could have leaped off anywhere near as gracefully as Batty had just done. Most likely she would stumble, fall down, and quite possibly sprain herself, actually.

As Rosalind took after Batty across the grassy grounds of Viscount Druitt's estate, Batty's speed increased. So did Rosalind's. Running was yet another activity that was not Rosalind's strong suit as well, but she found an adrenaline rush take over her. Nothing would prevent her from reaching her sister, to make sure her and everyone else in the future that she cared for and would care for, were all right.

Batty was still faster, however. They were reaching a forest at the back of Viscount Druitt's estate now, with Rosalind calling Batty's name as she ran, but with Batty not responding.

As Batty dove into the woods, it seemed like she had a clear advantage when-

_Tug._ Batty tried to move forward, but found she could not. Frowning, she whirled her head around to see what the problem was and found her the sash of her dress that had been tied into one large bow in the back was caught on a tree branch.

As Batty struggled to get herself unstuck, Rosalind caught up to her. She could see her now, as she sped up towards her panting heavily, but determined never the less. As Rosalind's speed increased, it seemed inevitable that Rosalind would catch Batty and have her explain what was going on. Batty's heart raced. No, that could not happen…

Batty shrugged out of her dress fervently as Rosalind came closer, and once she was free, took off into the distance.

Rosalind moved quickly, determined not to let anything get in her way. She needed to know what was going on and if anyone was in danger. Batty seemed to be caught on a tree branch, and just when it looked like Batty would have no choice but confess what was happening, the mauve garment and black gloves fell to the ground, and Batty took off again. Rosalind made herself hurry up, and as she did so, mused over how this could in any way be an advantage for her. Batty had evidently been wearing a white ball gown under the mauve one, so the white would make her easy to spot in the darkness.

What was interesting about the clothes Batty had on now though, Rosalind noticed, was that they appeared to be ripped in places; the skirts were torn. One might think this was simply because of her mauve dress snagging onto the tree branch, but that was only her mauve dress that had gotten caught; her white one had not. So therefore, Rosalind concluded as she ran, Batty's clothes must have been ripped earlier.

So how had she damaged them in the first place? Then Rosalind noticed the area on Batty's forearms that the gloves had been covering; her arms were scratched.

_Was she hurt?_ Rosalind thought wildly as she ran, heart pumping, as horrible possibilities entered her mind. She ran quicker now, quicker than ever before. _Did someone hurt her? Was she wearing the mauve over the white to hide the tears, and the gloves to cover her beat up arms? Is someone blackmailing her and that's why she won't speak to me? Is she trying to protect me? Or maybe she is not in any danger, and simply tripped and fell? All I know is this: _I _need_ _to protect_ her. _I need to make sure she's all right._

Rosalind was so caught up in thought and so determined to find Batty that she failed to notice a tree root sticking out from the ground, and tripped over it.

Rosalind lifted herself off the forest floor, but by then Batty was long gone and far away, no longer visible in the darkness.

"Batty!" Rosalind tried calling out again, searching frantically and uselessly for her sister, but Batty was nowhere to be found. "BATTY!"

Her only reply was an echo. Rosalind stood still for a moment, hoping that her sister would come back and offer her some sort of explanation, but no one came. Rosalind cursed her clumsiness; if only she hadn't tripped over that tree root, than things might have been different. It appeared that just simply athletics in general had never been her strong suit. Rosalind went back over and gingerly picked up the sash that had gotten stuck and was now separated from the dress, as well as the actual garment itself. As she gathered the mauve pinstripes in her hands, she reached into her bag to check the time and felt that her watch- her Agency watch- was warm.

Meanwhile, at Ciel's townhouse Batty the younger was currently having a "sleep over" with Finny, Maylene, and Thyme, though very little sleeping was actually being done. Rosalind had made sure that her sisters had ate before she left for the ball, being as she was unsure of Finny and Maylene's cooking abilities, and Thyme wasn't even allowed in the kitchen, so the possibility of her cooking anything was out to begin with. Rosalind had gone back to the bakery though, and bought them some more sweets.

Now, the group was currently sitting on the floor criss-cross- applesauce style , with blankets and curtains hanging over pieces of furniture- some of which was over turned- , and stuffed animals as far as the eye could see. Inside each of their little forts, delicious little treats were being devoured, scary stories were being told, and pictures were being drawn using crayons.

Thyme had also released Charnold from his- she had decided that he was male- secret hiding place in the flower box, and for a time he had been running wild, before Maylene saw him and nearly had a heart attack. Now he was in a basket next to Thyme, who everyone was at the moment a little scared to approach.

All of a sudden Thyme reached into her pocket and felt her Agency watch heat up. Thyme then tried to sneak away from the group, hoping to go unnoticed, but Finny spotted her. He inquired curiously, "Thyme? What are you doing?"

"Erm…" Thyme wracked her brains, trying to think of a believable answer. "I…"

All eyes were on her now and she was thinking quickly, and then she had it.

"I- OH MY GOD I THINK I SAW A SMURF !" Thyme blurted out, pointing outside the window, waving her arms in the air frantically.

Finny and Maylene both stared at Thyme in confusion, and then stated, as though synchronized," What's a smurf?"

"They're little blue creatures that live in mushrooms," Little Batty explained to the perplexed duo. "Rosalind showed them to us once when she brought that "T.V." thingy back from the future and we were channel searching."

"Anyhow, I'm going smurf hunting now, bye!" And with that being said, Thyme ran out into the hallway, leaving Finny and Maylene puzzled, and Batty looking horror stricken.

"You're going to_ hunt _the cute little smurfs?" Batty whimpered.

"Miss Batty could you please tell us more about these "smurfs" you speak of ?" Asked Maylene, to whom young Batty's explanation had left only more confused.

"Like I said they're these cute little blue guys with white hats," Batty began. "But-"

"Actually I think one of them is a girl!" Thyme's voice added, coming from the hallway. "Smurfette, or something. And not all of them wear white hats; I'm pretty sure one of them wears a red one!"

And with that being said, now everyone remaining in the room stood there, disturbed and horror stricken.

Rosalind turned around, and bumped into Sebastian.

"Sebastian!" She exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart. "Oh my goodness, you startled me! I did not realize you were here."

"Indeed I am," Sebastian replied smoothly. "I have been here the whole time."  
>What Rosalind did next was unpredicted: the next thing Sebastian knew, he found himself on the forest floor, Rosalind looming over him, pepper spray in her hand.<p>

"Who are you?" She seethed.

"Miss Rosemary, might you kindly explain to me what you are-"

"Don't mess around with me!" She interrupted. "Answer the question, you tell me who you are right now, or I will use this." Rosalind motioned to the bottle she currently held in her hand.

"Miss Rosemary, I am Sebastian Michaelis," Sebastian answered, bemused by Rosalind's abrupt and unexpected behavior, but making sure to keep his tone calm. "Butler of one Ciel Phantomhive; why would you-"

"Well, for your sake, I hope you are telling the truth." Rosalind tightened her hold on Sebastian firmer now, "Because if you are an impostor, and have any intention of hurting the people close to me, you are in very, very deep trouble. Now then, what is your favorite color?"

"Pardon?" Sebastian was beginning to wonder if Rosalind had lost her sanity.

Rosalind tightened her grip on him once again. "Answer me!"

"It's black," Sebastian said with a sigh, feeling utterly ridiculous, but deciding that it was best to just play along. "And if you want to know why, it is because it represents what I am; a demon, forever living in darkness. "

Rosalind was quiet for a moment, before leaning over and asking, "And what is my favorite color?"

"Your favorite color is yellow," Sebastian answered correctly. "The reason behind that it is that it is the color of your sisters' hair, whom you love deeply. Now, would you please get off of me?"

Rosalind's personality seemed to change at once; she looked down and, upon realizing what their current position may have implicated to the casual observer, stood up and blushed.

Sebastian too stood up and looked at her expectantly.

"I am sorry I did that," Rosalind apologized. "But my unbecoming behavior was necessary. I needed to make sure that you were the real Sebastian Michaelis, through and through. What with this whole mysterious business involving Batty, I deemed it necessary to make sure you were not some impostor posing a threat towards me or my sisters. Though now that I think about it, for some of those questions an impostor would probably make sure they knew the answers to in advance... Anyway, what do you mean you were here the entire time?"

"When you were chasing after that girl whom you believe to be your sister, I was running behind you that entire time. I even ran ahead of you a couple of times to search for her, but it was all in vain; it appears that your sister is nowhere to be found."

Another thought occurred to Rosalind.

"Sebastian, Batty had been talking to you about something before I came out onto the terrace and spotted her. What was she saying to you?"

"She had only asked that I keep an eye on you tonight." Sebastian responded. "As to why, however, she did not elaborate. "

Rosalind thought about this for a moment, before saying," Well, right now we have other matters on our hands. Sebastian, do you remember how we went to the military base in the 1940's last week? And how the idiots there would not believe me when I suggested that they learn more about the dolls they were using, and that the dolls may betray them?"

Sebastian nodded. "Yes."

"Well, guess what? I was right. I have just received a message asking- no, _begging- _that we come. "

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Right at this very moment?"

"Yes," said Rosalind, and then, after a moment's pause, added," Well not _right now _per say. Actually, we have over half a century. We should travel into the future to the base, and from there we shall help them. I recommend leaving now. Though we do appear to have time on our side, appearances can be deceiving. Rule #5: You can never be too certain with time travel. There is not time like the present, and therefore I suggest we leave now."

"Though there may be truth in that Miss Rosemary," Sebastian began. "Have you forgotten that I must be here when my young master summons me? If I am over half a century away from him, would I be able to return to him when he calls?"

"When he summons you I can use my agency watch to take you back to the past," Rosalind replied. "Actually, if you come with me, once this whole ordeal is over, we can just come back to where we are now." Rosalind answered, and then her expression turned grave. "Lives are at stake here, Sebastian. I must beg of you to please come with me."

Sebastian considered this for a moment, thinking of how it would benefit him and his young master.

"Very well, then. As you wish, Miss Rosemary." Sebastian agreed. _If I had refused, it may only create problems for my young master and me later on. Though I do wonder why it is that she cares about these other people. Why should it matter to her whether they live or die? What is her relationship to these people? Never mind though, I must for now carry on with this plan of hers being as it may help my young lord. _

Viscount Druitt was currently leading Ciel around his manor, listing off the names of the rooms as they passed them by. Ciel grit his teeth, thoroughly despising the man currently speaking to him. _Just how many rooms does this manor hold? _Ciel wondered in what would have been a bored manner had it not been that he may very well have been standing next to a serial killer.They reached yet another room now, but this time Viscount Druitt pulled the door open, motioning for Ciel to come inside. Ciel clenched his hands at his sides, and entered the room, where, upon entering, he was met by an intoxicating aroma.

The fragrance was very strong, though Ciel could not quite put his finger on the identity of the overwhelmingly strong scent. His whole body went numb, and only then as he hit the floor, did he realize how much danger he was in, why the viscount had him enter the room first, and what the smell was. _Help, Sebastian…_ these were his last thoughts as he lay on the floor in a pink, crumpled, and now unconscious heap.

When Sebastian opened his eyes, he found that he was standing at where he had been taken by the Rosemary sisters but a week ago. The sunny skies were now dark, however, and he realized that he and Rosalind were still wearing the same attire they had been wearing at the ball.

"Miss Rosemary, should we not have changed our clothes before arriving so as not to attract attention?" He questioned.

"The message said we needn't changed," Rosalind said quickly. "The dolls are attacking, and I doubt very much that these people are going to care very much about the attire of their saviors, so long as they are saved, nor would the pay particular attention, or find it especially odd considering the fact that they are being attacked by dolls. Many of the people there are aware of when we come from anyway; the only reason we bothered getting changed last time was in case we had to arrive anywhere outside of this base. People are, for the most part, accustomed to viewing what we are wearing. Anyway, there's not time to waste, we better get going."

And with that being said, Rosalind took off into the building before Sebastian could even question how and why people at the base would have of knowledge of when they came from, and he decided to chase after her.

Upon entering the room, he was met with quite a shock. The hall was filled with people pressed up against the wall by the dolls, screaming and crying. Before either Rosalind or Sebastian could do anything, a voice hollered out, "I don't think so!"

Rosalind and Sebastian spun their heads around to find Thyme enter the room, run towards the dolls, and, using her super strength, quite literally pick them up, and throw them across the corridor.

"Thyme!" Rosalind gasped. "What are you doing here?"

At the moment, with dolls attacking left and right, Rosalind was more concerned with her sister being at a military base in another century without telling her rather than the possibility of Rosalind herself getting killed or injured.

"Rosalind!" Thyme whined. "You totally just ruined my super cool macho moment!"

"Oh, erm, sorry," Said Rosalind, apologetically but then angrily "But really Thyme, what are you doing here? Why are you here? Did you come alone? Did you tell anyone where and when you were going? Is everyone we care about okay? Alive? What-"

"Whoa, whoa Rosalind," Thyme interrupted, taken aback. " Relax. I got a message on my Agency watch telling me to come here, so I told everyone back at the house that I saw a smurf and left! Gosh," Thyme muttered under her breath, as if Rosalind's cause for alarm was perfectly silly and abnormal in the situation at the moment, rather than perfectly normal.

"…Okay," Rosalind said slowly, not sure what to make of that explanation.

Sebastian knew he shouldn't, but could not help but ask," If I may Miss Rosemary, what on earth is a 'smurf'?"

"They're these fictional little blue creatures that were created in the 20th century," Rosalind replied, debating over how much to tell him so as not to permanently destroy the space time continuum. "They are primarily male, but I do believe that there is one female known as Smurfette. And almost all of them where white hats, except for one who dons a red one."

"Oh, that's Grandpa Smurf," Thyme threw in offhandedly.

Rosalind and Sebastian both stared at Thyme.

"What?" Thyme questioned after they did this for a moment or two without saying anything. "What's wrong?"

Rosalind was the first to speak. "Thyme, I'm not even going to begin trying to explain that the way you automatically seem to have so much knowledge about fictional blue characters from the 20th century is rather creepy and rather disturbing."

"Eugh, you hypocrite!" Thyme protested. "You were the one who first introduced me to that show!"

"No, you discovered that show for yourself," Rosalind patiently reminded her, and then added in an undertone. "And ix-nay on speaking about the future in front of people from the past." Rosalind pointed to Sebastian as she spoke.

Thyme was about to open her mouth to argue some more, when Sebastian intervened loudly, "Need I remind you two ladies, that at the moment this military base is being attacked by dolls with the intent on killing people, and that I was not brought here to have my time wasted on arguments about trivial things such as tiny blue non- existent creatures. "

"Sebastian's right," Rosalind agreed. "We need to come up with a plan. "

Before Rosalind could go into detail about what that plan was, however, Thyme yelled suddenly," Look out!" And with that being said punched out a doll aiming a kick towards Rosalind just in time which in the midst of their conversation had snuck up on them.

Deciding that there was not time to waste, Rosalind instructed commandingly, " Right then, Sebastian, Thyme. You two stay here and try to attack and defeat any dolls that you two can. Meanwhile I will try to lead all of the people in this base to safety.

Everybody," she roared at the crowd of cowering doctors, scientists, and military officials," come this way. Follow me. "

And with no other option, the crowed obeyed, all running out the nearest doorway where Rosalind was headed.

"Oh yeah, let's do this Sebastian Honey!" Thyme crowed as she and Sebastian took out the dolls.

"With pleasure," he smirked as he aimed an impressive blow to one of the dolls. This would most certainly be good practice to polish his fighting skills when he needed to deal with some of his young master's more… _difficult_ enemies.

As Rosalind lead the frightened and hysterical group behind her, she found a rather nasty surprise as she made her way down the stairwell that would hopefully have lead them to outside the base. At the bottom of the staircase, a doll stood waiting for them. The crowd behind Rosalind screamed in terror. Searching her bag frantically and hoping against hope that this would work, Rosalind pulled out her can of pepper spray and hollered to the people at the top of the stairs, "Everyone! Stay back! Close and avert your eyes!"

Raising the pepper spray she held in her hands at angle so that it would not get in her eyes- which she had shut, just in case- and throwing her head back dramatically, she sprayed.

…And nothing happened. The doll remained unaffected. Rosalind decided now was a good time to warn the group, "Oh, by the way, before we run for our lives, I would just like to say that what I just did was very dangerous and if that had been anyone other than a doll, they would have been seriously injured, so please, don't try that at home. Okay, everybody run. "

And with that being said, the group ran out up and out of the stairwell. As Rosalind ran, she could not help but think to herself _Somehow I had a feeling that wouldn't really work well anyway. But I had to try. Now think, where else can we go and what can I do to save them… _

The group of people Rosalind had been leading finally managed to find a room with no dolls in it. As the last member of the group ran in, Rosalind grabbed a leather chair from behind the mahogany desk and propped it up against the door behind her. It wouldn't do much good, she knew, the dolls could always break the door down, but she needed a moment to think. And she had chosen this room in particular for a reason. As the panicked group's voices rose dramatically, Rosalind walked over to one of the people in lab coats and asked, "Excuse me, sir? Might I borrow your stethoscope for a moment?"

"Well, if it will get us out of here, then yes, you may," The doctor seemed surprised by this odd request, but being as this was a dire emergency he thought nothing of it and decided to lend the strange girl in white a stethoscope. She seemed vaguely familiar, like someone he had seen around before but had never met. She seemed to have a plan and was acting like she knew what she was doing at any rate, so he lent it to her.

Rosalind smiled knowingly at him. "Thank you, sir. Your generosity is greatly appreciated."

And with that being said, in the midst of a crisis, Rosalind Rosemary calmly walked over to a cupboard located at the bottom of the oak desk standing in the middle of the room. As she pulled open the cupboard door however, it was revealed not to be a cupboard, but rather a black metal safe installed at the bottom of the desk.

Pressing the stethoscope against the safe, she attempted to hear the sounds of the clicks and turns as she used her other free hand to turn the combination lock. Rosalind knew what was in that safe, and if she was just able to get the lock to turn the right way, she could bring out a tool that might very well save them all…

"OY! " Rosalind called for order as the rooms occupants continued to panic. "I can't even hear myself think! I know you're scared, but all of you, just be quiet for a moment. If I open this thing, I can save us all, but in order for that to happen I require silence. "

You could have heard a pin drop.

Returning to her work, Rosalind carefully used the stethoscope to listen to the lock. This was a skill she had learned within The Agency as part of her training, though she had never actually believed she would ever have to use it in real life, which was perhaps one of the reasons why, she remembered, that when she had first learned this skill she had failed the tests based on it several times before finally getting it right. Trying not to dwell on this fact much, she tried reminding herself that she had managed to pass that part of her training, even if it was by just barley, it was still a pass none the less.

Minutes passed and the room's occupants waited with bated breath. Finally, there was a final _click_ and Rosalind pulled out the object she had been looking for. Rosalind stared at the screen on the back wall of the room. It showed where everyone at the base was at the moment.

Rosalind left the room, music box in hand, a serene smile plastered across her face.

Meanwhile, Thyme and Sebastian were continuing to fight the dolls. They had managed to achieve some very well placed blows with strong impact, but they were finding there were only a few places on the dolls that they could hit for their blows to be truly successful, and for the dolls not to get back up. Very resilient, these dolls were.

As the duo continued to battle the dolls, a voice began to sing.

"_London bridge is falling down, falling down, London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady." _

Though it was in no way at all a particularly enchanting voice, the dolls stopped moving and only craned their heads to the sound of the voice. As the music continued to play, the dolls stopped moving all together and then there was silence.

Thyme and Sebastian turned their heads around to see who had done this. Rosalind stepped out of the shadows then, a look of quiet triumph across her face.

"I think I can take a guess as to what we're all thinking right now: What the Hell?" Exclaimed Thyme.

"_Language_, Thyme!" Rosalind chided.

"If I may Miss Rosemary, what has taken place just now?" Sebastian inquired calmly.

"The dolls have all been stopped now," Rosalind stated to Sebastian and Thyme. "This is the musical box that Dr. Framley had used to stop the dolls a week ago. I've been all over the base, and have been using this to persuade- or rather, control- the dolls to stop fighting. I do believe that is the last of them. Everyone has evacuated from the base and has been lead to safety. I have at the moment stopped the dolls, but we need to make sure that they never attack again."

"At the moment they are merely in a sort of sleep or a coma, however the moment that they awaken they shall start attacking once again. This box controls the dolls and can reawaken them as well as put them to sleep. It is for this reason that I have concluded that I must destroy this box so that they will never wake back up. Please wait here for me. "

before she could leave however, Sebastian stopped her. "I do not believe that is such a wise idea, Miss Rosemary." He stated in an undertone so that Thyme could not overhear them.

"Why not?" Rosalind asked quizzically.

"Do you not remember your sister coming from the future?" Sebastian whispered to Rosalind. He was very close to her now, voice low so as not to be overheard by Thyme. For some reason Rosalind could not help but notice that at the moment the only time they had ever been this close was at the Viscount Druitt's ball and when he had been giving her dancing lessons.

"Your sister told me to keep an eye on you tonight, Miss Rosemary," Sebastian went on. "Perhaps there was a very good reason in her doing so, wouldn't you agree? I may not possess a thorough amount of experience in your line of work, Miss Rosemary, but it does strike me as odd that your sister specifically chose tonight to instruct me about this, and that she ran away as soon as she saw you. Therefore, I do not believe that I should let you go alone when you destroy this musical box, lest something, shall we say, problematic happens as a result, due to negligence, and not taking heed of your sister's warning. "

Before Rosalind could respond to that, Thyme interjected suddenly," If you guys are going to make out now, I- I'm just going to leave the room, I'll give you guys some alone time…" Thyme backed away slowly, raising her hands in front of her, as if she were defending herself from something somehow.

"What?" Rosalind snapped her head in Thyme's direction; she had almost forgotten she was there. Sebastian merely spared Thyme a side glance, indicating he was aware of her presence the entire time.

Rosalind then fully processed what Thyme had just said.

"_Thyme!"_ Rosalind moaned, turning a thousand shades of red as she realized the implications behind that statement and silently prayed to whatever merciful force was out there that Sebastian would not completely understand what Thyme had just said, and being as Thyme had once again included futuristic slang while speaking to someone from her own time period, with any luck it would be doubtful that he would understand.

"Sorry," Thyme muttered, raising her hands again. "I just thought that, well, you know, he's kind of close to you, um, I just thought you two might want some alone time… Look, I- I- this is just really awkward for me, okay?"

Thyme took deep breaths for a moment to calm herself down, and then turning to Sebastian, gripped his hands into a firm handshake and declared," Ah, now that I have calmed down a bit, I can speak coherently and think clearly. I will not bring up the subject again, Mr. Sebastian Michaelis, but I will say this: If you have any doubt in your mind, I just want you to know that I approve."

"Again, what?" Rosalind repeated and then realized that now would be a good time to take care of the rest of the dolls, what with Thyme interrogating Sebastian now, and with that being said, she left the room.

Rosalind walked away from the group and back into Dr. Framley's office. Before she destroyed this box, she wanted to make sure she had destroyed all of the dolls first, otherwise if she found one she would not be able to defeat it. Placing the box on the brown desk, Rosalind looked up at the screen behind the desk that showed all of the locations at the base; not a doll was in sight. Now then, time to destroy the box. Rosalind looked around room, this was a military base after all, there should be and were plenty of weapons she could use to break the box.

_What should I use though?_ Rosalind pondered. _I don't really want to fire a gun at it, being as my shot might miss the box. Hmm, maybe I could find a sledgehammer to use or something…_

Rosalind recalled there being a room nearby that may have what she was looking for, and left in search of a suitable tool. Upon returning, she raised her weapon, before she noticed something.

The lid to the music box was now open, something of which Rosalind could not help but find odd, being as she had been certain that she had closed it earlier after she had finished using it.

_Maybe I just didn't close it tight enough…_

However, that was not the only thing that was strange about the box. On the inside of the box stood a miniature ballerina, no more than six inches tall, on a miniature podium that Rosalind had not seen before. That was not what was strange though. What _was_ strange though, was the fact that the little figurine looked _exactly like Rosalind. _It adorned a miniaturized version of the dress Rosalind wore; the exact same dress was recognizable from the exact shade of white to the exact length of the hem. The tiny figure wore the same diamond tiara and same pearl necklace, as well as every other part of Rosalind's attire that night. The only difference was the shoes. While Rosalind was currently adorning newly polished black flats, the tiny accessory to the music box was wearing white ballet slippers.

The doll even had the same hairstyle Rosalind had fixed her hair into for the evening. And although Rosalind's facial features had been altered by the amount of makeup she had worn tonight so that nobody would recognize her, it was looked as though the little ballerina was wearing makeup as well and that it had been arranged the precise same way.

On the side of the box were painted on designs, one of which included crossing and intersecting ribbons. Upon closer inspection, Rosalind could observe that some of the painted on ribbons appeared to be in the shape of letters, and upon this discovery Rosalind saw three letters that made her blood run cold: **R. R .R.**

Rosalind stepped back. Suddenly music started to play:

"_Tick tock, goes the clock,_

_As time has flown away_

_Tick tock, goes the clock,_

_Yet forever it will stay_

_Tick tock, goes the clock,_

_How you wish that you could fly,_

_Tick tock, goes the clock,_

_Knowing your love will surely die."_

The voice of a young girl was coming from the music box, yet Rosalind had not pulled the crank that was meant to play music. And the only music that was supposed to come from the box was the tune to "London Bridge is Falling Down", not this creepy melody and this girl's voice. There wasn't even supposed to be a recording of a person's voice in the box anyway. What was going on?

_Not here, _Rosalind realized with a jolt. _No, it can't possibly be happening here… could it?_

Rosalind lunged forward and shut the box with a snap. Running rapidly, Rosalind gathered the box and sledgehammer she had found into her hands, and raced out the door, out of the room, and out of the base itself until she ran all the way outside. _Run, run, run._ Her feet struck the pavement as she ran, racing quickly onto grassy lawns, then, quicker, over the grounds until she reached a babbling brook nearby located across from a wood.

Rosalind used her bare hands as a shovel, breathing breathlessly, and scraped at the dirt. Picking at it it until she dug a hole, and then, another, and then another, and another, until soon she had several holes dug open in the ground. Then she stood up, placed the box on the ground, raised the sledgehammer, and with shaking hands, smashed the box into what may as well have been a million little pieces. The box lay broken and bare on the ground, and when no sound came out, Rosalind scooped up half of the broken remains and threw them into the babbling brook nearby.

Rosalind then scooped up the rest of the pieces and tossed them into the holes she had made at random. After all of the pieces had either been tossed away or buried, Rosalind replaced the dirt she had dug up back into the grounds, patting the particles gently, and after successfully scooping all of the dug up dirt back into place, stood up slowly. And then ran back inside without looking back.

After placing the sledgehammer back to its original spot, Rosalind caught up to Thyme and Sebastian who were waiting for her.

"About time you got here, "Thyme huffed. " I was ALMOST getting tired of telling Sebastian Honey here about my new masterpiece: Monkeys with Hats. It's going to be the title for my newest painting I'm working on. I was debating on either Rainbow Gumdrops or Purple Monkey Dishwasher or Garfield the Weird: King of the Weasel People. Ooh! Or maybe, King Arthur: King of the Ferret people! Ooh, I know, how about Ferrets vs. Weasels? It will be an all out war of the species! No, wait; I changed my mind, how about… When Smurfs Attack! No, too violent, I'm not sure if it's even possible for those little guys to attack."

"Er, Thyme," Rosalind interrupted. "Are you not at all interested in the fact that I have received confirmation that I have put the entirety of the dolls into a sleep-induced state?"

"Oh, yeah, that!" Thyme remembered with a jolt. "Sorry, how did that go?"

"All of the dolls have been put to sleep," Rosalind informed them. " We may return to our own time."

"Oh, yeah!" Thyme cheered. "My sister is, in a word: AWESOME! You go, girl! Whoo! This was so cool! And when Sebastian Honey and I tried to attempt to defeat the dolls using brawn, and you managed to defeat them using intelligence… Oh! I've got it! You defeated those dolls using the power of love...! Well, actually, you didn't really_ love _those people we saved, or at least as far as I know, maybe you're actually secretly having an affair with one of the people at the base- kidding, kidding! "Thyme added hastily as Rosalind shot her a warning look.

"Sorry, but, this is all just so- so- AWESOME! Anyway, back to my conclusion. So maybe it wasn't, _love,_ per say, that defeated the dolls, but rather concern for others safety and compassion… or maybe it _was_ love in the sense of your sisterly love for me! Oh, who cares, what really defeated them, whether it was love, concern for public safety, compassion, brawn, intelligence, or something, or all of the above, or a combination of the ones just mentioned, I love you! You are so cool right now!" And with that being said Thyme hugged Rosalind.

Rosalind smiled before saying,"You should go back to the town house Thyme. Maylene and the others will worry if you are gone for too long. Just go back in time to, say, about five seconds after you left. "

For once Thyme nodded and did what she was told. "See you guys later! Try to make sure you snap some pictures of Ciel Baby in a dress for me if you can, okay!" And with that being said, Thyme fiddled with her Agency watch for a moment and left.

Soon afterwards, Rosalind pulled out her agency watch and took her and Sebastian back to Viscount Druitt's mansion.

Sebastian turned to face Rosalind. "Miss Rosemary," he began.

"I was not going to take any pictures of Ciel dressed as a girl." Rosalind interjected.

"And I was not going to ask that," Sebastian replied smoothly. "What I was going to ask, however, was what happened to that music box that was controlling the dolls. "

"I destroyed it outside," Rosalind informed him. "With a sledgehammer. I threw some of the pieces into a river nearby, and buried the rest in the ground so that if anyone found any of these pieces to try and put the box back together they would be unable to being as the pieces are all separated. "

Yet Sebastian had the feeling that there may have been some more information Rosalind was concealing from him.

"You are not telling me something, Miss Rosemary," he said, crimson orbs bearing into brown ones that looked back at him. " What is it that you are concealing from my young master and I? You seem to have a suspicious amount of knowledge on this matter of the dolls, and I believe though cannot prove that something besides what you have told me happened while you terminated that box. I would like answers, Miss Rosemary. "

Before Rosalind could answer, Sebastian felt himself being summoned by his young master.

"I must go now, Miss Rosemary," Sebastian told her. "I shall now leave to save my young master." and with that being said Sebastian took off into the night air and left.

When Ciel awoke the world was dark. _Where am I? _He wondered before he heard a voice speaking. Then he remembered everything that had happened; Viscount Druitt, being dragged into that room, and the intoxicating aroma just seconds before the world went dark. He reached up only to find that his hands were tied and as his eyes attempted to adjust to the darkness he came to the conclusion that he was blindfolded due to the fact that he felt a soft fabric against his eyes and the his vision continued to remain pitch black. As he heard the viscount spoke, he realized what was happening: He was being auctioned off.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please quiet down," Viscount Druitt was saying and it came to Ciel's attention that there were other people in the room. "Next is the item everyone has been anticipating for. Please look at it carefully. You may choose to keep her in the cage, or play with her as much as you wish, or you could use her in a ceremony. Parts of her could be sold to whatever the customer prefers as well. "

"What-"Ciel could not even finish the sentence as he realized what was happening. No one in the audience or the viscount heard Ciel's uttered word. _So this is what has happened to the Jack the Ripper victims; they are sold at an underground auction and then murdered. _ Ciel felt eerily at ease. Everything seemed to make sense now.

The viscount was still talking.

"Are there any takers?" he asked the audience. "Are there any bids? One thousand? Two thousand?"

As the viscount started to take bids, Ciel whispered only four words softly and calmly: "Sebastian. I am here."

Ciel suddenly heard yells. A minute later a familiar voice said carelessly," Really. Apart from getting caught, you haven't accomplished anything, young mistress."

"Sebastian." Ciel acknowledged.

"You thought that as long as I came to your bidding you could be so careless?" Sebastian went on.

"As long as I have this contract, you will come from wherever you are, correct?" Ciel reminded him.

"Well, of course," Sebastian said as he ripped apart the bars of the cage while still somehow maintain an aura of grace and elegance. "I will follow you wherever you go, young master."

Sebastian did not call Ciel by his alias; everyone else in the room was now unconscious there was no need to. "Until the very end."

Sebastian undid the blind fold over Ciel's eyes now.

"I have already notified the police. They should be arriving shortly."

"Then we better not dwell in this place any longer," Ciel replied. "Even if we stayed, those dogs at Scotland Yard would give us a hard time."

"In that case then," Sebastian advised. "We had better be on our way now. " And with that being said Sebastian picked up a rather flustered Ciel into his arms and jumped off of the stage and onto the roof.

Lady Elizabeth stood out on one of the balconies at Viscount Druitt's mansion, staring up at the stars and was unable to help but sigh. Lizzie had enjoyed herself at the ball tonight- really, she had- but she had been unable to find the girl in the pink dress, and for that she was slightly disappointed. There had not been many other children at the ball tonight and Lizzie had now spent much of the evening searching for the girl wearing the pretty dress. Lizzie was looking for a particular type of friend and she had hoped she may meet some at the party.

Much as she liked Ciel, he was her fiancé and that was different than the type of friendship she had in mind. She was close to Paula, but Paula was her maid and older than she was as well. The Phantomhive servants put up with her, but she had never really had any conversations with them when she wasn't doing the majority of the talking or dressing them up in cute outfits, so she wasn't even sure if that could even classify as a friendship. Or at least, not the kind Lizzie had in mind.

It would have been nice to spend time with a girl her own age for once, an opportunity that Elizabeth found she did not receive as much as she would have liked to. That was the type of friend she wanted: A girl her own age who would share the same interests as her that she could visit very often. Oh, she had Thyme as a friend, though she had only met the hyperactive girl a couple of times. Batty was nice too, even though she was younger than both Elizabeth and Thyme. Like Thyme though, they had only conversed with each other a couple of times. Still, Lizzie reminded herself, there would be more opportunities to meet them again in the future. She had been disappointed they weren't there tonight though.

Therefore, it was for these reasons that Lizzie had pursued the girl in the pink so relentlessly. She had been hoping for the company of someone her own age while she was at the ball.

As Elizabeth was thinking about this, Paula come running towards her.

"Lady Elizabeth," Paula said panting. "Your mother asked me to get you. Your family is going to be leaving soon."

Elizabeth nodded, all the while thinking to herself that her mother could not possibly have requested that Paula go fetch Lizzie rather than order her to; Elizabeth for the life of her could not remember her mother politely request anything without a commanding tone in her life, even towards a member of her own family.

"I'll be there in a minute." Lizzie told Paula. Paula nodded and walked off to relay the message.

Elizabeth turned back to look up at the sky and blinked. Lizzie could have sworn that she had seen a black figure and... Was that…. a pink dress? Lizzie rubbed her eyes quickly and looked back up with a jolt. There was nothing there.

_Just now, there seemed to be someone…_ Lizzie thought to herself. _What was it? Was it my imagination? _

Before Lizzie could dwell any more on the subject matter, however, Paula came over beckoning Lady Elizabeth over again. That night when Elizabeth Middleford went to sleep, though she did not quite understand why, she slept with a happy heart.

Sebastian and Ciel found Rosalind waiting for them.

"Are you all right?" Was Rosalind's first question to Ciel as soon as she saw him. Ciel nodded in response. Rosalind had had faith in Sebastian's abilities to protect Ciel, being as his contract with Ciel required him to do so under all costs, but she had still had had some concerns over leaving Ciel alone with Viscount Druitt in order to find out whether or not he was behind the Jack the Ripper murders. Thankfully though, he appeared to be all right. Just to be safe though, Rosalind asked again tentatively," Are you quite sure? That you are all right, I mean. That man didn't … hurt you or anything, did he?"

"My young master is perfectly fine fine," Sebastian assured her. "No harm befell my master." Rosalind looked relieved. "Was the viscount behind these murders as we suspected?" She questioned.

"The viscount was indeed behind the jack the ripper murders," Ciel replied coolly. " He would murder and auction off the victims."

Rosalind blanched.

"I believe the carriage should be waiting out front." Sebastian reminded them. "It would benefit us greatly if we were not here by the time the authorities arrived."

With that being said, the trio snuck to the front of the entrance around the side of the mansion, met up with Grell, Lau, and Madame Red, entered their carriage, and drove away.

Upon arriving back at the townhouse, Sebastian hid Ciel in the back way just moments before Maylene stepped outside and Sebastian informed her that she may take leave and thanked her for her services.

"Grell, take Maylene home." Sebastian commanded. Grell jumped at the sound of Sebastian's voice and instantly obliged straight away. As the carriage drove away Ciel came out from the the back of the house and entered the front door. As the rest of the adults and Ciel went upstairs, Rosalind entered the living room and found Batty and Finny asleep on the floor. Thyme was still awake though. "Hello," Thyme greeted cheerily. "I was wondering what time you'd be back. How did everything go?"

Rosalind paused for a moment before answering, "Fine. How were Batty, Finny, and Maylene?"

"Fine and dandy," Was Thyme's swift reply. "Though they were all quite tired for some reason; I'm not really sure why…"

"Yes… well, anyway, Thyme, thank you for coming to the base tonight and helping out," Rosalind began." But next time do you think you could notify me before you do such a thing? You gave me quite a shock when you arrived so suddenly. I understand you were there because you were called to be there, but you _must_ inform me the next time a thing like this happens, all right? I need to know where you are."

Thyme nodded. "Okay." She agreed.

"Good… now there is the matter of what you said to Sebastian and I tonight, what was the meaning of that?" Rosalind demanded softly, trying to keep her voice low so as not to wake Batty and Finny.

The first part of Thyme's answer was unsurprising: "Sorry, but it truly looked like there was something going on between the two of you because of how close you guys were. " The next part of Thyme's answer_ did_ surprise Rosalind. "But it wasn't really so much that as the fact that clearly he was preventing you from doing something. I trust you and have faith in your judgment, so I wanted to help you out. I figured that by saying something like _that,_ that it would distract the two of you and due to the distraction you could go take care of whatever it was you had to do. That was all. I'm sorry if it upset you in anyway."

"It's okay," Rosalind said in earnest. "I understand your intent. But for future reference, I beg of you to please be more careful of what you say in the future. And you need not worry about me, though I do think it is very sweet of you to, but I could have handled that myself; I can take care of myself. And furthermore," Rosalind could not help but add. "There is nothing at all in that nature "going on" between Sebastian and I. That's beside the point though, and once again I accept your apology and I forgive you."

"Thank you," Said Thyme in acknowledgement when a thought occurred to her. " Hey Rosalind?"

"Yes?"

"While my assumption of you two going to make out proved to be incorrect, and the fact that nothing like that is going to happen in the near future is most likely true, I do wonder though: just what is your relationship with Sebastian Honey?" Thyme asked curiously.

Rosalind pondered this a moment before answering," I respect him."

Thyme waited for Rosalind to say more but she said nothing.

"Do you… like him?" Thyme persisted.

Rosalind frowned. "I really do not see how this is any of your business Thyme, but since you asked, I view him as an equal. Although I have had a firm belief that all living beings are created equal for quite some time now, since meeting Sebastian I may have expanded on that belief slightly; that all living beings are created equal as well as the nonliving. Of course, Sebastian is the only demon I have ever met, and I am not certain as to whether or not he is alive, dead, or in a separate category in itself that is neither dead nor alive. I am not certain if he even _can_ die. I view him as an equal, and perhaps even as a good colleague; nothing more and nothing less." Rosalind finished.

Thyme could not help but be a bit disappointed with that answer; she had been hoping for something juicier. Thyme had another idea, and she prompted," Would you ever like to get to know him better? Don't you think he's at least a little bit interesting? I mean, it's not like we have tea and crumpets with a demon every day, you know."

Rosalind raised an eyebrow at that statement. "Since when have we had tea and crumpets with any one, let alone Sebastian?" Rosalind could not help but chuckle at this. " I do admit that he may be a person I may like to become acquainted with a bit more; I mean, I understand what you are saying; he is the first demon we've ever met, after all. I suppose he is interesting…" Rosalind conceded.

Thyme could tell that was the most she would be able to get out of Rosalind tonight; it was getting late.

"Oh, look at the time!" Rosalind exclaimed looking at the clock suddenly, breaking Thyme's train of thought. "You best be getting to bed, Thyme."

"Okay. Good night Rosy."

"Good night Thyme," Rosalind said as Thyme left the room. "Pleasant dreams."

Rosalind then noticed Batty lying on the floor and scooped her up into her arms, only to find her a bit heavy and dropped her on the sofa. Rosalind, though having a strong mentality, had never had much physical strength, and usually had Thyme do any task that required physical labor. But Rosalind didn't like the idea of Thyme carrying their baby sister up a flight of stairs, though Rosalind was worried that if she herself did it, she may accidentally drop Batty. What would she do…?

"May I be of some assistance, Miss Rosemary?" Rosalind nearly jumped out of her skin. Sebastian was standing right behind her now, evidently he had just finished putting Ciel into bed.

Before Rosalind could even answer Sebastian seemed to assess the answer fairly quickly and placed Batty over his shoulders gently, and carried the little girl upstairs. Rosalind walked up right beside him. Upon reaching the bedroom Batty was residing in- the same one Rosalind was residing in- Sebastian placed Batty down onto the bed. As he looked down at Batty's sleeping face, it seemed so innocent, so carefree, so unassuming, and so full of good intent, he thought of the events of that night. Thyme had never found out what Batty's purpose had been, only to warn them, but warn them about what…?

"I don't suppose there's anything we can do right now," Rosalind said, as if reading Sebastian's mind. "If we find out anything too soon, it can interfere with the space time continuum. So for now, all we can do is wait until the right moment to find things out. "

Sebastian was surprised by Rosalind's statement; he had expected that surely she of all people would be determined to find out immediately what was going to happen; she was a time traveler after all, and had quite a thirst for knowledge. There was also that fact that she could be stubbornly persistent about obtaining information as well. Yet here she was, sounding so calm and accepting about the whole situation.

"Are you sure that is a wise decision, Miss Rosemary?" Sebastian asked.

"I have complete and utter faith in my sister, Sebastian," There was no doubt in Rosalind's mind as she spoke. She knew that whatever happened in the future, she would always love her sister. Always. She smiled as tucked her sister into bed and brushed the hair out of her face. _Always. _

**And that's chapter sixteen at last! Here are some questions to think of for next time (Which with any luck will be much sooner than this one.): Why did Batty come from the future? Where is she now? When is she now? Why did she ask Sebastian to keep an eye on Rosalind? What did those symbols on the music box mean to Rosalind, what did that song mean, and why was she so disturbed?*though in fairness, that sort of thing would probably unnerve anyone* **

**Also, to anyone who is confused, the Batty we see back at the townhouse is Batty the younger; not Batty from the future. Btw, that song the music box sings was inspired by the nursery rhyme from Doctor Who. I do not own the beginning "Tick-tock goes the clock" parts, but the rest of the lyrics I made up. **

**Once again, Happy Holidays to everyone, and please review! **


	17. It's not over

**Oh my… I did not expect it to take this long for me to update. At all. I apologize deeply. As of now, I don't think I can accurately predict the update rate for this story, but just know that there WILL be updates in the future, even though at the moment I can't say when. Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, added this to alerts or favorites, or read this far ! I really appreciate it! *Hands out cyber cookies* By the way, I noticed that in this story there are a lot of scene changes, but I don't have anything that represents change in scene, so from now on I will use this little symbol: R~R~R~ between scene changes. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji, or any of the characters in this story except for my OCs. **

Chapter 17: It's Not Over

Sebastian was preparing breakfast as usual the next morning in the kitchen when Rosalind came downstairs.

"Good morning," She greeted.

"Good morning," He said back, wondering what her reason was for speaking to him. Tue, Miss Rosemary did talk to him sometimes simply to be polite, but she had a very thoughtful expression on her face, and the past several weeks had taught Sebastian that when she had that look on her face, she had something on her mind.

"I'll be frank," Rosalind decided. "I want to speak to you in private because, well…I don't think it's over. The Jack the Ripper case, I mean."

Before Sebastian could respond to that, Finny walked into the room.

"Hello Miss Rosemary! Good morning, Mr. Sebastian!" He exclaimed cheerfully.

"Finny I've told you, you don't have to call me that," Rosalind reminded him patiently. Rosalind thought it would be a good idea not to be too formal with Finny and vice versa, being as she strongly suspected that he might be her brother in law someday.

"Oh, sorry Miss Rosalind!" Finny began, although before he could proceed to apologize profusely like he usually did when he apologized, Rosalind assured him,

"It's quite all right. Now Finny, what brings you down here?"

Finny's stomach growling was his answer.

"Finnian, you're not allowed in the kitchens, you know that," Sebastian lectured.

"I know! Sorry!"

"Oh my, what's all the commotion?" Lau asked as he entered the room. Ad soon after that, everyone came down for breakfast and Rosalind was unable to continue her conversation with Sebastian.

**R~R~R~**

"What is the meaning of this?" Ciel roared, as he slammed the newspaper onto the breakfast table. Everyone looked up.

"Whatever do you mean, Ciel-" Rosalind began.

"This!" Ciel showed her the headline. It read: JACK THE RIPPER RETURNS!

_So I was right, _Rosalind thought to herself. _It's not over, after all. _

"The viscount didn't go anywhere last night!" Ciel roared."How did this happen?"

Ciel rubbed his temples and sighed. Now was not the time to act like a child throwing a temper tantrum. They would just have to start over again.

"Sebastian!" He ordered. "We have to narrow it down again. Organize the list."

"AS you wish, my lord." Sebastian complied and left the room.

"So, this means it wasn't the viscount then." Madame Red stated blandly.

Sebastian returned, handing Ciel the list.

"There are 4.5 million people in London alone," Ciel stated calculatingly as he read over the list."During the seasonal part period, there would be even more. If we relax the requirements, the pool of people increases even more."

At that moment, lighting flashed outside. It was a dark and rainy day, rather matching Ciel's mood at the moment.

Batty whimpered and ducked under her chair.

"She's afraid of thunder storms," Rosalind explained, leaning don onto the floor to comfort her. "There there, it's okay…Finny, do you think you could look after Batty for me?"

Rosalind knew she'd have to work on the case, but she also knew Batty needed someone for her during the storm, and being that Finny didn't have anything to do, this would keep him occupied.

"Of course!"Finny agreed eagerly.

"I'll help too!" Thyme piped up, and with some coaxing, they lead the frightened little girl out of the room, murmuring words of comfort along the way.

Everyone in the room for the next couple of hours assisted Ciel with narrowing down suspects. Madame Red departed after a while and returned carrying a chess box.

"Why don't you relax a while and play this?" Madame Red recommended brightly as she entered the room. "You don't always have to work so hard, you know. Come, take a break!" She urged, and Ciel reluctantly complied. He didn't know why, but there was something about his aunt's smile that made him feel that perhaps a short break would be acceptable.

"I shall go do some independent study then, "Said Rosalind, and she left the room.

**R~R~R~**

Ciel and Madame Red played chess for much longer than Ciel had anticipated.

"I do wish you'd leave this kind of society," Madame Red commented after several chess games, all of which she lost. "I still remember the day you were born," Madame Red whispered, reminiscing. "At the time I was still a new nurse, and I was just panicking back then. You were so small and cute… I felt I had to protect you. Although I've never had children…"

Madame Red stood up and touched Ciel's head. "I treat you like my own son. And so I want you to leave this kind of society."

"I am here because it is what I wish and what I choose," Ciel told her, removing her hand from his head. "And so I won't regret anything. And neither will I rely… on anyone."

As Sebastian straightened up some papers,( he was inspecting the lists of suspects while they played) Ciel leaned in and kissed his aunt lightly on the check. "It is time for me to retire. I had a happy time playing with you, Madame Red. Good night." And with that being said Ciel exited the room, almost bumping into Grell who was carrying a tray of tea, on the way out,.

As Ciel left, Madame Red placed her head in her hands and sighed. "Why must that child bear so much pain and coldness at such a young age?"

"My young master is he kind of person will work towards something once he has his mind made up."Sebastian stated coolly, as he finished sorting papers. "Even if the path he chooses is long and dark, or even cold and merciless… and that is why I will remain by his side to serve him. "

"I suppose that even if we wanted to stop him, it would be useless."Madame Red admitted."During that child's most painful times, I was not by his side. Sebastian."

Sebastian looked up, surprised at being addressed at. "It may seem strange to ask this of a stranger, but please stay by that child's side. Don't let him lose his way; don't let him be lost on his own. "

"Definitely," Sebastian promised, bowing. "I will always remain by his side and protect him. "

**R~R~R~**

Sebastian made his leave soon afterwards, now done organizing and looking through the lists, and made his way out into the hall.

"You know, Ciel really can be sweet when he likes to be," Rosalind observed from the shadows.

Sebastian was unsurprised to see her there. He had known she had been there watching for the past several minutes.

"What are you up to, Miss Rosemary?" Sebastian inquired.

"Oh, like I said before, simply some independent study. Just observing and mulling things over really. "Rosalind smiled at him, though he could see through her in a flash. "You really are quite loyal to your master, I noticed. This is a part of the contract, I suppose?"

"You presume correctly. I shall serve my master until the end."Sebastian answered stiffly.

"And by the end, you mean the day when you eat his soul?" Rosalind clarified.

Sebastian nodded curtly.

"So, from an objective logical standpoint, one could say that you are not truly loyal to him, but rather are loyal to what he posses, what you can gain from this contract: his soul."

Lighting flashed once more, and Sebastian smiled a very real, very dangerous, very unnerving smile, that Rosalind had seen only once: when Ciel had been kidnapped. "Once again Miss Rosemary, you are correct. It is a mutual system that we both agreed to and we both shall benefit on: He shall have his vengeance against those who have wronged him, and I shall have his soul once all is done. It is an agreement between two who have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Nothing more, nothing less. "

"Well, that's where I think you might be wrong, Sebastian."Rosalind replied." I do believe you care for him a little more than you let on, and simply do not realize it. Or perhaps you are lying, and are fully aware of what I am talking about."

"I never lie, Miss Rosemary." Sebastian reminded her smooth as can be.

"Oh?" Rosalind took a step closer at this. "You might be telling the truth, but who's to say for certain? If you were a knave, would you not also say the same?"

"You are very clever, Miss Rosemary," Sebastian smirked, giving off nothing to suggest that she was wrong, nor giving off any hints to suggest that she was right.

"I shall go back to work now, "Rosalind decided when she saw that she could not win with him… yet.

**R~R~R~**

Ciel lay on his bed while he heard a knock n the door. "Who is it?" He demanded as Sebastian opened the door and stepped inside.

"I've considered various possibilities, but it seems as if apart from the viscount, no one else could have been involved-"

A knocked sounded on the door and Rosalind stepped in. "I think I know who it is; "Rosalind said shakily a she entered the room.

"As do I, Miss Rosemary," Sebastian said, much to Rosalind and Ciel's surprise.

"Your behavior has been rather strange, Miss Rosemary." Sebastian noted. "Ever since the start of this case, your behavior has struck me as rather odd. You appear to know of events that appear to be unrelated or irrelevant, but are they really? And if they were of no importance, why would you not tell us? Your behavior seems more than a little suspicious to me. There is also the fact that you are currently attending medical school, and would therefore have a vast knowledge about the way these crimes have been committed, and may even have been able to perform them yourself. But of course that is simply a coincidence, is it not? Where do you go, when you wander off by yourself and are alone? There is also the fact that you have had arguably more knowledge about this case from the beginning than we have. What are you hiding Miss Rosemary?" Sebastian's glare was now menacing, his tone strangely calm yet bone-chilling at the same time.

Rosalind looked outraged. "How dare you? Are you accusing me of carrying out these heinous crimes? I will have you know for a fact, Sebastian Michaelis that I am, without a doubt, completely innocent. Of course I would have more knowledge of this case than you would: I am not a time traveler for nothing, you know, I learn all of this information as part of my job at The Agency. In fact, if I did not have so much foreknowledge of this case, I would not even be here working with any of you. As for my going to medical school, I would certainly hope I would have enough knowledge about human anatomy to carry out a crime like this! As you yourself said, I'm going to medical school so _of course_ I would know! And if all of that still doesn't convince you, then let me ask you this: what possible motif would I have for killing innocent women in such a brutal fashion, hm? Moreover, I have reason to believe I know who it really is and can prove it."

As Rosalind glowered at Sebastian, he smirked arrogantly. "I knew for a fact, Miss Rosemary that you are not behind these murders. "

Realization hit Ciel like a ton of bricks. "Sebastian…" He gasped. "It was _you_ who did it?"

"No, it wasn't," Sebastian smirked wider than ever; to Rosalind his arrogance seemed to fill the entire room at this point, seeping in under her skin. Then turning to Rosalind he added, "I would be lying if I were to say that I never suspected you, Miss Rosemary; I never lie, after all.

However, I would advise that in the future you inform us of what is going on. The young master and I do not like to be left in the dark… in the sense of being unaware, that is."

Rosalind felt her lips twitch at his witty pun for a moment,-she loved it when people had a good intelligent sense of humor, and adored dry humor in particular, which seemed to be Sebastian's specialty- but quickly composed herself and tried to appear indifferent. Try being the key word.

"Now then," Sebastian went on, speaking like a teacher to a group of students. "Jack the Ripper really is…"

As Rosalind and Sebastian explained their thoughts to Ciel, a plan was soon formed.

**R~R~R~**

"You and Batty are to stay locked in your rooms tonight, understand? Make sure the doors are locked and do not leave under any circumstances, unless it is of course and absolute emergency. Do not hesitate to call me if _anything_ goes wrong, especially if you think there is any chance you may be in danger, or if you have any questions relating to your safety, although everything should be in the list of The Rules, now containing three hundred rules in total." Rosalind had added an extra fifty rules to the list ever since the plan had been formed.

"All right then," Thyme agreed, much to Rosalind's relief.

"Good-bye Thyme," Rosalind bade her as she opened the door.

"Good bye Rosalind," Thyme replied. "Do not worry; I am sure I will see you in the morning, correct?"

"I promise you that I will do everything in my power to ensure that I will not die tonight, Thyme." Rosalind promised. "I love you, sister."

"I love you too." Thyme assured her as Rosalind closed the door a moment later, making sure to lock it on the way out.

Rosalind went over the plan in her mind as she made her way out the back entrance of the house to meet Ciel and Sebastian. Rosalind surveyed her appearance in the kitchen window on the way out. She was dressed in a short-sleeved blouse typical of the time with a shawl that covered the golden chain of her Agency neck that was visible from above her blouse. She had her Agency watch tucked under her shirt, ready to pull it out and use it if necessary. Her hair had been tied back into a braid, but what was unusual about her outfit tonight was what she was wearing that covered her legs: pants.

Rosalind had argued about this with Sebastian and Ciel, but had stubbornly insisted on wearing pants for the mission. Pants, as in men's trousers, which were exceptionally rare for a woman to wear considering the time period. In fact, it was unheard of. The reason she was wearing the though, was for three reasons: (1. Trousers would be easier to fight in if need be than skirts.

(2. Due to the time of night it was, it would be hard for people to make out what gender she was in the dark, and, though she hated to give in to gender stereotypes, she had to reluctantly admit there was some truth in this: People would be less likely to attack her where they were going if they thought she was a man. That's not to say, she reminded herself firmly, that people mistaking her for a man would automatically equal safety, because men get attacked _as well _as women, but considering where they were going, it would be more likely that she would be in greater danger if people recognized her as a woman.

(3. Even if people did recognize her as a woman, they would most likely stay away from her. Oh, they might point and stare all they want and whisper something awful about her sanity, but chances were they would not pick a fight with her, thinking that a woman wearing pants must be very uncivilized indeed. And even if they did, Sebastian could protect her and Ciel lest anything happen. In the end, Rosalind had gone to a men's clothing store and bought a pair of pants, lying that they were for her "husband". That's certainly not to say Rosalind herself was helpless or defenseless, though. As a matter of fact, she was well prepared to fend for herself should anything happened.

Rosalind was at the moment wearing two big brown boots Batty had made for her last Christmas. They were rather spacey, due to the fact that Rosalind had notably wide feet, and Batty having known this, had made extra room in the boots so that Rosalind's feet wouldn't be too tight, but she had included more room than necessary, however in this case it was actually convenient. Rosalind had not brought her bag with her, and because she believed it may get in the way if she had to carry around extra weight with her, she had decided to keep a can of pepper spray with her in her left boot, and her wallet in her right, should she need any money or contact information for any reason.

The reason Rosalind didn't dress like this every day though, was this: She would most likely have been sent to a mental institution if she did. Rosalind rebelled against society, and honestly didn't care that much about what other people thought of her, however, she knew that if she was just a little too rebellious; she could be thrown into the madhouse. So she would rebel by wearing medium-length dresses instead of dresses that went to the floor, however she knew she could not wear pants everyday, or else there may very well be a good chance she would be locked up, and she needed to take care of Batty and Thyme. Moreover though, Rosalind had been raised as a noble, and despite the fact that a great many of her beliefs differed with that of society, there were some traditional things she personally did not have much of a problem with, and was perfectly comfortable wearing dresses on a regular basis.

As Rosalind met Sebastian and Ciel and they made their way to their destination, they fortunately did not encounter any trouble on the way. The rain had stopped at long last before they left the house, and the streets now smelled of rain. They reached a very poor, very dark, and very dangerous neighborhood. Thankfully, at the moment, it also appeared to be very alone. Eventually the trio reached an alleyway and stood in front of the building: this was the place. They waited for several minutes until-

"SEBASTIAN!" Ciel yelled so suddenly, it made Rosalind jump. "We are not keeping it!"

Sebastian was currently cuddling an alley cat. "I'm so sorry My Lord, "Sebastian claimed, although he seemed rather preoccupied at the moment. " My mind seems to have wandered…"

"Put it down... now!" Ciel ordered, while Rosalind laughed. She couldn't help it; perhaps it was because she had been so nervous for the whole operation, and she needed something to break the ice, and here it was. Rosalind had to admit; from his was his dry wit to his fondness for cats, Sebastian Michaelis certainly did amuse her at times, even when she was mad at him, however she had forgiven him for accusing her now. He had a few valid points, she reluctantly conceded to herself.

Suddenly, a scream split through the night sky.

"What? But no one went inside-" Ciel gasped as he ran towards the door at the end of the alley. "Let's go!" Rosalind and Sebastian ran after him.

As Ciel opened the door, Sebastian's hand flew over Ciel's eyes, and he did the same to Rosalind, so that neither would have to witness the horror that awaited them inside. Jack the Ripper had struck again.

"That was rather over the top," Sebastian commented offhandedly as a figure stepped out from behind the door, drenched in blood. "It's all over the floor. Jack the Ripper. No- Grell Sutcliffe"

Sebastian removed his hands from Rosalind and Ciel's eyes. (They could not see the corpse from where they were, being as he had taken them a good distance away.)

Grell Sutcliffe indeed stood before them. "N-No this is.. I heard cries and when I got here it was already…"

"Already what?" Sebastian interrupted a slight and teasing smile on his face. "We were always outside, and this is the only route. Just how did you manage to get into the same room as the deceased? Do you still plan on pretending in the state you're in? Isn't it enough, Mr. Grell? No… even "Grell Sutcliffe" must be fake, right? Please stop pretending, Mr. "Grell". I must say, it's the first time I've encountered a human like you. Didn't you act so convincingly? "

Grell's face twisted into a very twisted and far more disturbing smile. "Heh,"he chuckled. "Is that so? That's correct! I'm an actress," Grell removed his scarf and glasses, and ran a comb through his brown hair that turned it red. "And a top rate one at that! But aren't you the same Sebastian?"

"This is the name the young master gave me," Sebastian replied. "I am Sebastian… at the present. "

"Well, aren't you a faithful little dog?" Grell cooed. "A handsome man as a faithful dog is rather nice … Then allow me to reintroduce myself to you Sebastian, no, _Bassy. _I am the butler of the Barnett family… Grell Sutcliffe. We're both butler, so… hello."

Grell blew Sebastian a kiss resulting in Sebastian actually shuddering.

"Ah! I can finally appear before you in my real form. Because isn't it embarrassing to appear before a handsome man without make up? It was my first time seeing a demon as a butler, so I was very surprised at first!"Grell commented.

"I've lived long enough," Sebastian remarked. "I've never heard of "that kind of person" becoming a butler. You, who should have stayed neutral between God and humans… a Grimm Reaper, on the other hand you are more or less a god, why did you become a butler?"

"Don't say it like that!" Said Grell. "Oh right… I've been captivated by a woman."

"And that woman is…" Sebastian and Rosalind suspected they already knew the answer.

Madame Red stepped out of the shadows. "You don't really have to ask, do you?"

**Cliffhanger! So here are some questions for the readers: To those who have not read / seen the Jack the Ripper arc, did you guess what was going to happen at the end of this chapter? What do you think? Did anyone ever suspect that Rosalind may have had a hand in it? What's going to happen next chapter? How did Sebastian and Rosalind know who did it, and when did they find out? On another note, as I said in the A/N in the beginning of this chapter, I cannot predict when my next update will be at the moment, however I can assure you that there WILL be updates. Also, some of the dialogue used in this chapter was from manga scans chapters 8 and 9. Pretty please review! :):) **


	18. Secrets Come Out

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, added to favorites, or alerts! *Hands out cyber chocolate.* Also, I had this very strange thought a while ago: For those of you who may watch the TV show ****Psych****, is it just me or personality wise doesn't Thyme strongly resemble Shawn and Rosalind Gus? I'm just curious if anyone else made that connection, because I honestly had never even watched ****Psych**** until after I started writing this story, and even then it took some time before that thought occurred to me. Anyway, on to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Black Butler / Kuroshitsuji****. **

Chapter 18: Secrets Come Out

Madame Red stepped out of the shadows. "You don't really have to ask, do you?"

"Sebastian…" She acknowledged, giving him a curt nod. "Rosalind." To her she did the same.

"Madame Red…" Ciel breathed.

"It seems my calculations were wrong," She smirked."Who would have thought the person to uncover Grell's true identity would be someone by your side, Ciel?"

"From the very beginning, your name was in the list of suspects, Madame Red,"Ciel informed his aunt. "However, your alibi was really quite perfect."

"How terrible, Ciel," Madame Red pouted. "You would suspect one of your own?"

"As long as there is a possibility, I don't care if that person is a blood relative or a friend," Ciel answered back icily."In the list of suspects, any human could not have done it. The same goes for you, of course. But if the co-criminal was not a human-"(Here he motioned to Grell) "Then that is a different matter. To be able to access Mary Kelly's room without our noticing … You should be able to arrive here from the Viscount's place, correct? And then to disappear from the party for a few minutes is not something people would notice. The ones able to be Jack the Ripper would be the both of you. Madam Red, Grell Sutcliff. "

"They were all patients at the hospital you work at," Rosalind jumped in. "The victims, I mean. When I went off to do some independent study earlier, I discovered that. All of them underwent a "certain surgery"."

"The patient list setting out when they'd got their operations is here." Ciel pulled out the list from his pocket.

" I found out that the order in which the victims died corresponds exactly to the patients on your list. "Rosalind added. "Rather a coincidence, don't you think?" She said this last part sarcastically.

"The only name left on this list was Mary Jane Kelly's," Ciel continued. "I thought if we waited here, she would appear. However, we could not save her."Ciel's eyes filled with sorrow at this.

"I have a question for the two of you," Rosalind stated boldly. "Why was Madame Red's drink drugged at the restaurant?"

"Well, originally Grell was _supposed_ to drug the prostitute Mary Jane Kelly," Madame Red narrowed her eyes at Grell. "He was supposed to slip her the drink with the drug in it, but _somehow_ managed to get the orders mixed up!"

"How unfortunate, Sebastian, "Madame Red remarked. "My cute nephew… my sister's son…" She turned to Ciel. "If you hadn't discovered this we could still play chess together. However…" Her fists clenched now and her features took on a wild, deranged sort of appearance. "I will not go easy on you anymore!" She roared and Grell swooped in to attack them with what appeared to be an electric chainsaw. Sebastian stopped him by placing his gloved hands over the blade before Grell could hurt them.

"What is that?" Ciel asked in horror.

"That's an anachronism!" Rosalind shrieked at Grell. "Where and when did you get an electric chainsaw, those haven't been invented yet!"

"Though I am unaware as to what you are referencing to, Miss Rosemary," Sebastian answered as he pushed the blade along with Grell away, preventing it from slashing them all. "In order to capture their own souls, all Grimm Reapers or Death Gods have their own tool known as a Death Scythe. "

"A regular scythe is so old fashioned, don't you think?" Grell commented, stepping towards them again. "This Death Scythe I'm using was specially made. This Death Scythe I'm using will be used to play a duet with the soul's last moments. Of course, I guarantee it's first rate! This is a tool used by Grimm Reapers able to slice through anything! Oh, Bassy, I do love red the most!" Grell sighed suddenly, turning to face Sebastian.

Rosalind could not help but emit a chuckle despite the circumstances. "Bassy?" She chocked laughing to Sebastian. "Did Grell actually just call you Bassy? Maybe I should do that sometime…" she joked but fell silent upon seeing Sebastian's less than amused gaze. "Don't," he warned her darkly.

"Back off you hussy!"Grell growled at Rosalind. "And let me carry on or I shall slice your throat sooner than I intended to."

Rosalind had the sense to remain silent as she listened to Grell and tried to formulate a plan in her mind.

"As I was saying, red is such a lovely color, isn't it, Bassy?" Grell carried on as if there was no interruption. "Hair, clothes, lipstick… I love them all to be red. That's why I do love to use fresh blood to use as make up for those women-"

Rosalind fought down the sudden urge to vomit. This man- or at least, she assumed he was a man, she wasn't entirely certain what he was- was a psycho, that was all she was certain of. She looked at Madame Red who had her eyes narrowed, but had not moved yet. Rosalind was certain she was going to strike when they least expected her to, which should be any moment now; Grell's monologue must be a distraction.

"The more flamboyant a woman is, the more beautiful she is as a poisonous flower," Grell was saying now. "A cool man who uses the color of wild roses would definitely be beautiful, Bassy. I want to make you that beautiful wild rose color, and tear your body up to its deepest core. Bassy." Grell cooed.

"Grimm Reapers should quietly capture souls that are about to depart from the world,"Sebastian stated disgustedly." Butlers are supposed to follow their master like a shadow. To violate these two principles like you had, makes me want to vomit."

"Hey, I really tried my best to serve my master as a butler!" Grell pouted angrily."I even worked without my makeup or dressing up!"

"How shocking," Sebastian mocked. "And you still call yourself a butler?"

Grell smiled a sickening smile. "Even if I'm dressed up like this, I'm still a butler of death."

"In the name of her majesty and my own wretched name," Ciel ordered softly. "I command you! Capture them."

"Yes, My Lord," Sebastian responded. He then stylishly tossed off his coat, which landed on both Ciel and Rosalind despite the obvious height difference between the two.

"What-"Ciel started to protest but Sebastian cut him off.

"So that your bodies won't catch cold, "Sebastian smiled at them serenely."When we get back to the mansion I'll make some hot milk for you both. I'll be sure to sweeten it with honey or brandy."

"With honey one would hope," Rosalind's eyes narrowed toward Ciel. "He's a little young to be drinking brandy, don't you think?"

"Indeed," Sebastian agreed casually, as though he were not about to fight a Grim Reaper.

"Lately my scythe's only encountered unsophisticated prey," Grell announced, lunging toward Sebastian."My scythe and I are unsatisfied. Oh! "Grell slammed his scythe down and managed to dig some gravel up, which went flying. Sebastian dodged it just in time. "If I am the one to be hunted down, I'd rather be the one doing the hunting! Let us play a wonderful game of hide and seek, Bassy!"

Sebastian lifted a lamppost out of the ground as Grell attacked with the chainsaw, both objects pressing up against each other.

"You're quite the man, Bassy!" Grell grinned."However, if you get struck by my Death Scythe, the lamppost you have in your hand would be no different from a tree branch! "And then Grell did it, something awful, something that made both Rosalind and Ciel's hearts stop; he sliced off Sebastian's arm with his chainsaw.

But Sebastian did not even hear Rosalind's scream as he saw something bizarre pass in front of him; he saw what appeared to be… filmstrips. What was going on? And the next thing he knew a younger Ciel was talking to him, saying, "From today onwards, you are my servant. " And as he saw more he realized what these things were: Memories. His memories since he had met Ciel.

"How is it?"Grell asked him. "It was filled with dramatic pain, wasn't it? How was it, you cinematic record, I mean? Grimm Reapers can use cinematic records to relive the memories of those on the to-die list for assessment. What kind of person are they? What kind of life did they lead? Whether to let them live on? Or to kill them? The general statement about one's life flashing before their eyes prior to death? That's just the Grimm Reaper replaying the human's memories. We will use the scythe to sever the link between their memories and soul, and this is how we "end" their life. "

"I think that is just a terrible interest. " Sebastian declared, nonplussed. "And this sort of spying activity is really the worst."

"A good man's past," Grell used his scythe to aim at Sebastian again, and Sebastian evaded the scythe once more, as well as the scythe's owner." Makes people curious. But a bad man's past makes me want to see even more! "Here Grell had Sebastian tossed against the wall as he tried to slice him with the scythe."It's been boring to try and find humans to play hide and seek with me, Bassy! Once struck by the Death Scythe, regardless of one's souls, memories, or space, even if it's a demon, it will be sliced!

**R~R~R~**

"Why?" Ciel whispered to Madame Red, eyes downcast.

"Why?" Madame Red repeated. "You're asking me now, how do you expect me to answer?"

"You and I" She told Ciel. "Have become "guard dog" and "sinner." If you weren't a guard dog of this place and were a hunted one instead then there would only be one path for you!"Madame Red screeched and pulled out a knife.

_SMACK!_ The next thing she knew Rosalind had punched her in the face. The blow itself was not particularly effective, being as Rosalind was not used to engaging in acts of violence, yet Madame Red and Ciel both stared at her, shocked; no one had expected this.

"You foul, evil woman," Rosalind said quietly. "You did _not _just attempt to murder a child, let alone your own nephew. How could you-"

Rosalind was unable to finish that sentence because Madam Red had recovered and was swinging her knife again. It missed Rosalind this time only by centimeters. She screamed, and this time Sebastian heard her. Sebastian turned to look at her as he attempted to fight off Grell. Rosalind attempted to grab onto Ciel so she could hide him back at the townhouse, not caring if Madame Red or Grell saw her time travel, Ciel needed to get to safety, but Madam Red was swinging at them so quickly and persistently that Rosalind was unable to do so.

"Why did you do it?" Ciel demanded as he and Rosalind moved away from Madame Red."As a doctor, why did you have to murder people?"

"Even if I told a brat like you you would never understand!" She yelled furiously at her nephew. "You're just a child!"

Her hands were around Ciel's throat now. Rosalind had managed to get away from her and proceeded to kick Madame Red in the knee, only to be kicked under her feet in return and lay sprawled on the floor. Rosalind was about to get back up, but Madame Red pressed her high heeled shoe into Rosalind's shoulder, preventing her from getting back up as she raised her knife in front of Ciel… and saw for a fleeting moment the face of a beautiful flaxen haired woman, who possessed the very same eyes as Ciel.

"Sister…" she breathed and then the image was gone.

"Young Master!" Sebastian shouted as he finally managed to escape from Grell.

Madam let go of Ciel, dropped the knife, stepped off of Rosalind, and buried her face in her hands. "STOP IT!" She wailed, though no one knew who she was addressing. Sebastian was creeping up behind her now, a mad look in his eyes; ready to kill, when-

"Sebastian!" Rosalind and Ciel hollered at the same time. Sebastian stopped what he was doing. "Don't kill her!"

"Bassy's endurance is pretty good," Grell mentioned from the sidelines. "His arm was already useless, but he still had to go help the little brat and that hussy. Compared to that, what do you have to say for yourself?" Grell spoke to Madame Red. "Madame Red! Just kill that brat already!"

"I can't," she whispered, back facing everyone, shoulders trembling.

"You're saying this _now_?" Grell bellowed, incredulously. "_Now_, after killing so many women?"

"I can't," she repeated, now turning to face them, an agonized expression on her face."He's my own nephew; my sister's son. In a way he's like my _own._ I cannot kill him."

"If you don't kill that little brat it will be your turn to be killed!" Grell threatened.

Madame Red opened her mouth to protest some more when something terrible happened, and Rosalind was only able to shut her own eyes and shield Ciel's eyes with her hands in time for what happened next, there being not enough time to stop it.

"Oh, Madame Red," Grell sighed, yet there was a mad glint in his eyes as he looked down at her now dead body, his Death Scythe drenched with blood. "How disappointing. I am no longer interested in an ordinary woman like you. "As he spoke, Rosalind squinted and saw an outline of Madame Red's dead body on the floor. She realized what she had to do. She took her agency watch out from her shirt, and sent herself and Ciel, whose eyes she was still shielding, back to the townhouse.

**R~R~R**

Rosalind appeared with Ciel in Thyme's bedroom. Thyme woke with a start.

"Ciel Baby! Rosalind! What the-"

"No time to explain," Rosalind interrupted her. "Ciel must stay here! Do not let him out of the room under any circumstances. Nor are you to leave as well, for any reason. I shall bring Batty in here and you will all stay here until I tell you it's safe to leave. Do not let anyone else in apart from Sebastian, Finny, or myself under any circumstances. Understand?"

Thyme nodded, and Rosalind time traveled into Batty's room, and brought her back to Thyme's room in a matter of seconds. Before Rosalind could leave, Ciel spoke at last.

"Rosalind, is Madame Red-"He let that sentence hang, but everyone present, even Batty, knew what he meant.

"Yes," Rosalind answered straight to the point. "However, I might be able to do something about it."

And before Ciel could even open his mouth in protest to join her, she time traveled back to the scene of the crime, where Madame Red's cinematic record was playing

**R~R~R**

.

Rosalind was now standing next to Madame Red's corpse, making sure her eyes never looked at the ground. A thought occurred to her: Would it be possible for her to actually see Madame

Red's cinematic records? She fiddled with her Agency watch for a moment, knelt down to where Madame Red lay, and, not looking at her, placed the watch against her forehead. The next thing she knew, she wasn't standing in a dark alleyway where a murder had just taken place.

**R~R~R**

_Rosalind looked around. She was under an outside arch standing behind a young girl who appeared to be around Thyme's age standing under the same arch reading a book. The girl had freckles on her face and long ginger hair worn in pigtails with long bangs in front._

"_Excuse me?" Rosalind tested, tapping the girl on the shoulder. She did not notice. _

"_An! Angelina!" The girl looked up from the book she was reading as another girl, looking slightly older than she, ran towards her, long amber-blonde hair flowing and blue eyes shining. This girl could not see Rosalind either. _

"_Sister." The red haired girl acknowledged._

"_You're still here?" Her sister exclaimed smiling. "Father called for you. He said he's going to introduce a guest to us. It wouldn't do to make the guest wait." _

"_But I'm dressed like this!" Angelina protested worriedly. "I haven't even put any make up on…"_

_The other girl smoothed down the flustered younger looking sister's frock. "This is okay," She assured her. "You're cute like this."_

_As the girls walked on, the flaxen haired girl inquired," Are you reading?"_

"_Yes!" the fiery-haired girl told her." I'm studying hard. I'm going to be a doctor in the future! And I also want to cure your asthma! It's not like I'm pretty, and I'm no good at going to parties, so I might not even be able to get married-"_

"_What are you talking about?" Her older sister interrupted, shocked. "You are so lovely, and so smart! You should have more confidence in yourself! Also, you're very well endowed to. I'm _so _jealous…" She teased, and playfully grabbed her younger sister's bust. _

"_Sister!" Angelina gasped laughing in surprise. The memory ended with the two girls laughing and smiling and switched to Angelina standing before two men. One was a man who possessed the same hair Angelina had and sported a mustache, while the other was a tall handsome young man with dark hair who honestly did strongly resemble Sebastian Michaelis in looks. _

"_Rachel, Angelina," the father acknowledged the two girls. "Come and greet Earl Phantomhive."  
>"How do you do?" Earl Phantomhive greeted, while Angelina looked at him in wonder, feeling shy and self-conscious. <em>

_The cinematic record changed again. Ann was alone with Earl Phantomhive, who was inquiring, "Why is your fringe so long?" _

"_Because I am not beautiful like my sister," Ann replied. "And my hair is so red too…" Ann looked at her hair, she loathed its color. Then Vincent Phantomhive spoke._

"_There is nothing shameful about being different from others. This is your character! Ann's red hair really is beautiful, just like the color of red spider lilies in full bloom. Red really suits you. You really should have more confidence in yourself. "_

_The scene ended with Ann looking stunned but happy and changed to show her standing in front of a mirror with a pair of scissors… cutting her bangs…._

_The scene changed once more to reveal Ann looking slightly older and appearing to possess more confidence. She had her hair tied back with a red ribbon and she was wearing beautiful red dress: Evidently, she appeared to like the color red a good deal more. She was finishing applying her makeup in front of a mirror, when a voice called," My lady! Earl Phantomhive is here!"_

"_All right!" Ann called back as she finished applying some powder on her nose. Ann walked out of the room quickly and eagerly. "Will he compliment me?" She wondered aloud as she walked down the hallway. Ann entered the living room where she found her sister Rachel seated within close proximity to Earl Phantomhive, clutching his arm._

"_Ah, you're here!" Rachel beamed happily. Vincent was smiling too. "Ann, I have some good news to tell you. Vincent and I are getting married!" Rosalind could not see Ann's reaction due to the scene ending there._

_The next scene was in a church. Rachel was at the front of the church wearing a wedding dress and ring while signing a certificate. Ann was seated in the front row, wearing red. She was not attempting to stop her sister and instead smiled at the happy couple. _

_The next cinematic record began with a baby crying. Ann was standing nearby evidently not the one who had just given birth. Ann wore her hair in pigtails once again and it was clear that most likely a few years of time had passed since the wedding. A midwife handed the baby to Ann as Rachel said," Ann, you hold him. He's your nephew!" _

"_He's so cute," Ann whispered as she took in the little baby that was Ciel Phantomhive. _

"_When he grows up, you're going to have to play with him!" Rachel told Ann smiling. _

"_Okay!" Ann agreed. _

"_His nose is just like his father's," Rachel cooed as she stared at her child lovingly. A very strange look came across Ann's face; she suddenly hated the color red again…_

_Ann was now standing next to some men at a ball, wearing a lavish red dress and makeup. She appeared to be a little older here and, on the outside at least, was enjoying herself, was now going by the name of Madame Red and appeared to be far less shy…_

_Madame Red was slumped over a desk with an open textbook, reading…_

_Madame Red was wearing white doctor's coat, holding a medical degree in her hands…_

_A young and smiling Elizabeth and Ciel appeared before Madame Red. _

"_Auntie Ann, come read to us!" Ciel was saying eyes bright and mouth grinning. Evidently this cinematic record took place several years ago… _

"_Ciel! Elizabeth!" Madame Red roared playfully. "I told you not to call me Auntie! Call me big sis!" Ciel and Elizabeth ran off laughing along with a black dog. _

"_I'm so sorry, you always have to play with them," Rachel apologized from where she was seated._

"_It's okay," Madame Red said as she caught up with Ciel and Elizabeth, who were laughing. "I like children, and also-"_

"_Father!" Ciel interrupted suddenly as he ran towards Earl Phantomhive, who had apparently just arrived home from work. Elizabeth, Rachel, and even the dog came to greet him. "Welcome home!" Ann stared at Vincent longingly._

"_The weather is so pleasant, I want to play with the children," Vincent was saying as Madame Red gazed at him yearningly…_

_Another cinematic record played and showed Madame Red talking to a man, saying," I will marry you, but there is a man I cannot forget."_

_To this he said," Even so, I do not mind."_

_Next Madame Red was with a wedding ring around her finger, sitting on a chair with her husband staring at her lower abdomen in wonder which was starting to bulge. _

"_What is it? A boy or a girl?" her husband was asking._

"_Men are so impatient about these things," Madame Red chuckled. "We don't know yet." _

_As the next cinematic record played, a voice yelled," A horse carriage went out of control and hit someone! Quick, someone call a doctor!"_

_Madame Red was now lying in a hospital bed, with a bandage draped across her head. A doctor was informing her," Your husband died at the scene. Your organs were damaged, but we were able to save you by removing your ovaries. In order to save you, we had no choice but to do this…"_

_Rachel hugged Ann, tears streaming down both women's faces. "Ann, how terrible … How terrible it's been for you…"_

_The scene changed showing Rachel visiting frequently, at one point even parading around the room waving stethoscope, making her sister laugh._

"_Ann! I heard it from the doctor: You'll be out of the hospital soon!" Rachel gasped excitedly. _

"_It's thanks to sister for being here," Madame Red replied. _

"_We'll have to celebrate!" Rachel declared. "Right! It's my son's tenth birthday soon! Let's celebrate it together with your recovery!"_

"_But- But-" Madame Red began to protest but Rachel stopped her. _

"_No need to cut back! To celebrate your recovery, you must drink to your heart's content! "_

_Ann was now in a carriage which pulled to an abrupt halt. "Why did you stop?" She questioned the driver. _

"_Ma-Madame" The driver stuttered. "Please-Please look over there!" Madame Red did and he eyes widened in horror. The Phantomhive estate was alight with a raging inferno. It was alight with the color she wore the most and used to love the most as well as now hated the most: Crimson red. _

"_Sister! Brother-in-law!" Madame Red cried out in horror, stepping out of the carriage. _

_Madame Red was currently standing in front of two coffins, wearing black instead of red…_

_Madame Red was now in a hospital wearing a white lab coat, reading glasses, and was carrying a clipboard. A nurse ran up to her looking worried. "Doctor! Is it really okay for you to return to work?"_

"_It's okay," Madam Red assured her. "Staying at home is useless, and work may even help distract me. Furthermore there is an operation scheduled in the afternoon."_

_Madame Red was seated in an office with a rather raggedy looking woman seated in front of her. It was clear that this woman did not lead a life of luxury. _

"_Having a child will only cause problems!" The woman was saying. "I have no wish to raise some brat whose father I'm not even sure of. How do you expect me to get customers with a child in toll? Anyway, abortion isn't cheap either…"The woman sighed. _

_Madame Red was washing her hands in a washroom, looking angry. She had just come back from the operation the woman had agreed to have. _

_It was vey late at night and the woman from before stood in front of her door. _

"_Oh, it's you!" She exclaimed. "The one from that time-"Her eyes were suddenly wide in horror._

"_Stop, what are you-"Thankfully the rest of the cinematic record was blocked by Madame Red's body, the only sign that the woman had ever been there was the blood on the floor. Madame Red's body blocked the corpse. _

_Madame Red was blocking another body, presumably dead. Rosalind would have thought it was the same cinematic record, had it not been that it was a slightly different looking dark alley way and Madame Red's attire was slightly different. _

"_Meh! How gaudy!" A familiar voice rang out. For one horrifying moment Rosalind thought that Grell had somehow managed to sneak into the cinematic record with her, before realizing that he was part of the memory. _

_Madame Red, body still thankfully blocking the corpse, turned to face Grell, who was standing on the very top of a church nearby. "I've been watching you this whole time."_

_He jumped down from the building gracefully. "Thanks to you the number of dead folks around here is stacked. Making me busy. I actually understand how you feel. It's only natural to want such a woman to die."_

_Grell then proceeded to hug Madame Red. "We're in the same boat. I also want to have a child, but cannot since I am a man. I shall lend you a hand."_

_Madame Red burst through a set of doors, clothes no longer stained with blood, this time not murdering anybody. "Ciel!"She cried, as she ran into the room."Is it really you Ciel? You have been safe all this time?"_

_A boy who looked to be about ten years old sat in a chair with a bandage covering his left eye. Rosalind recognized Ciel instantly and she certainly recognized the man wearing a black butler suit standing next to him: Sebastian Michaelis. _

_Madame Red began asking Ciel where he had been, but he refused to answer._

"_Thank God!" She exclaimed." Even if it is only you who is safe. Here, let me see you face better."_

_As Madame Red looked into the face that so resembled her sister and her sister's husband, something wild flashed in Madame Red's eyes for a moment, that may have went unnoticed by Ciel and Sebastian, but did not escape Rosalind. _

_Then everything began to blur, and Rosalind realized with a jolt the reason was because this was the last important memory to Madame Red. Rosalind then knew what she had to do. Using her Agency watch, she transported herself back to the day of the carriage crash. Rosalind knew that there were certain things she could not change in the time stream without devastating results. She could not have Madame Red marry Vincent Phantomhive, or else Ciel would never have been born, and she would have never met him or Sebastian. Besides, while Rosalind may be able to change certain events, there were some things she could not do, and forcing people to fall in love with other people was one of them. _

_However, she could have Madame Red's child and husband still live. Perhaps if the child lived, Madame Red would not commit those murders. That's not to say the murders would have never happened though. Rosalind did not know enough about Grell and his past to prevent him from murdering. In fact, in Grell's case there honestly may not have been anything she could have done, even if she knew everything about his life. However, if she prevented Madame Red from being Jack the Ripper, a few less people would have died, including Madame Red. It was a long shot, but she had to try. _

_And so it was that Rosalind now watched Madame Red and her husband walk down a street together, holding hands and laughing, completely unaware of what was about to happen. A horse carriage nearby went out of control, about to hit Madame Red and her husband in a matter of seconds. Rosalind shoved the two out of the carriage's way, and used her Agency watch to escape before anyone could see her and one moment later she was back in present day…_

**R~R~R**

_Did I succeed? _Rosalind was back in the alleyway, where Sebastian and Grell were still fighting each other. There was one difference though: Madame Red's corpse was gone. _It must have worked then._ Rosalind concluded. _If she was still Jack the Ripper, her corpse would still be here due to her dying when she refused to kill Ciel. _

Speaking of which, Ciel was standing right next to her, and did not appear to notice that she had left, proving her conclusion further. _If Grell was Jack the Ripper, and not both he and Madame Red, I would not have sent him back to the townhouse due to Madame Red never attempting to kill him. Even so, is this really a safe spot for the boy to be right now? Maybe I-_

Rosalind's train of thought was interrupted by a long pole shooting down from the sky.

Rosalind looked up, as did everyone else in the vicinity. Or rather, the pole did not come from the sky rather than from the tall building above them. A brown haired man wearing a suit and glasses held the pole and spoke.

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation," Said he, adjusting his glasses. "I am William T. Spears of the Dispatch Management Division of the Grimm Reapers. I am here to pick up this Grimm Reaper. " He said all this, casually and gracefully jumping down from the building.

_How is it that these Grimm Reapers are able to leap off of tall buildings in single bounds and still land so ever gracefully on their feet?_ Rosalind could not help but marvel, in spite of the situation.

"William!" Grell cried happily. "You are here to save me-"

Grell was interrupted by William's feet hitting his head, and thus smashing Grell's face into the pavement. Rosalind could not help but wince. Although she did not like Grell due to him being a ruthless killer, she could not help but think to herself that that must have hurt quite a bit, and was very thankful she was not Grell, for so many reasons...

Then she smirked. Who was she kidding? After knowing that this man had killed many people, the sight of what just happened to him was actually quite enjoyable. She was trying hard not to laugh.

William was now flipping through the pages of a book. "Dispatch member Grell Sutcliff," he announced monotonously. "You have broken the rules. Firstly, you have killed people whose names were not listed on the Death List, and also, you used your scythe without permission, and even modified it without following proper procedures." He snapped the book shut, and ordered as he dragged Grell," Please return to the main branch to submit your reflection letter and report."

"Hey! Wait a moment!" Grell protested, somehow still having energy in him even after being beat up by Sebastian and just having his faced bashed in by William. "I was almost killed just now! You are so cold and unfeeling-"

"Shut up!" William commanded Grell who, for now at least, fell silent. Turning to Sebastian, he informed him, "This thing has caused you a lot of trouble from this time around. Oh, this is my name card. "He then muttered to himself, although everyone within his proximity could hear him say," Really… I actually have to bow to a creature like you who only brings harm. Even if you choose to tarnish the Grimm Reaper's reputation, there must be a limit. "

"Sebastian does not only cause harm!" Everyone turned to Rosalind, as though forgetting she was even there. Actually, William probably didn't even see her until just now. "Yes, he is a demon, but I would not say he is that bad. He aids human beings, such as his young master, so he can be rather helpful in some ways, believe it or not."

"I did not ask you for your opinion Miss Rosemary." William responded coolly.

"How do you know my name?"Rosalind enquired.

"I am a Grimm Reaper, we know everybody's name," William answered, before turning to Grell and muttering in a voice loud enough for Rosalind to hear, _"Humans, _honestly."

Rosalind opened her mouth to retort, but Sebastian beat her to it. "Thank you, Miss Rosemary, but I can handle this myself."

He turned to William. "In that case, please keep a close eye on him so that he does not trouble a harmful creature like me. Humans cannot reject temptation. When they are plunged into their depths of despair, likened to Hell, they will hold on to anything that may help them to escape from the situation they are in, even if it is only a spider's thread… No matter what sort of humans they are."

"Demons are those who use various chances to poke fun of humans, before proceeding to leech whatever comes out of it as a mean of survival, am I right?" William countered.

"I do not dismiss that claim," Sebastian smiled.

"Because you are a hound that is on a leash, it seems that you are slightly better than the untamed wild hounds," William commented to Sebastian, before calling to Grell," Let's go back Grell Sutcliff."

He muttered as he dragged Grell away, "This is really bothersome, we are already lacking in staff. I wonder if I will be able to knock off on time today."

Rosalind witnessed something flash in Sebastian's eyes as he picked up the discarded death scythe off the ground.

"Sebastian, don't-"

Sebastian threw the death scythe at William, who caught it expertly between his gloved fingertips, as though he had been expecting that.

"You forgot this," Sebastian smiled peacefully.

William's eyes narrowed."Thank you. I shall take my leave."

And with that being said, they left, though not before Grell yelled out to Rosalind, "You win this time, hussy! But I'll be back!"

"Would you kindly stop calling me a hussy!" Rosalind hissed, but Grell was long gone.

"I believe it is time for us to leave as well," Sebastian suggested.

"Indeed," Ciel sighed. "Let's… go home now."

**R~R~R**

"What happened Miss Rosemary?" They had returned to the town house. Ciel was in his bedroom, and Rosalind was about to step into hers to retire for bed immediately. It had been a long night; she wouldn't even bother undressing for bed.

"Pardon?" Rosalind had her hand on the door knob, ready to go into her room and retire into dreamland in her cozy bed, but Sebastian was standing next to her, having snuck up upon her without her even noticing.

"Miss Rosemary, am I correct to say you interfered in the time stream somehow tonight?"

"Yes, I did," Rosalind admitted. "How did you know?"

"I have two different pieces of information about what happened tonight," Sebastian began to explain. "In one version, both Madame Red and Grell Sutcliff were Jack the Ripper, however in another, only Grell was. Also, I have a recollection of the events of the past couple of weeks where Madame Red and Grell were staying with us and another where she did not appear at all. However, in both sets of memories, most of the events are still the same regardless of whether Madame Red was there or not."

"Sebastian, you are correct," Rosalind conceded. "Madame Red was originally one of the two Jack the Rippers, the other being Grell. However, when she was dying and her cinematic record started playing, I remembered that my Agency watch enables me to travel into and through time streams without anyone even realizing I am there. I used it to go into Madame Red's cinematic records. Quite honestly, I am surprised very much so that it worked, but I suppose there is a reason for it working that I simply have not figured it out yet. Now, here is what I saw in her cinematic record…"

Rosalind explained to Sebastian Madame Red's life story. When she finished, he asked her," Why did you save her, then? Why not merely let her commit the crimes and die?"

"I felt sorry for her," Rosalind disclosed. "I believe I saved her from a little more misery than she's already been through. Besides, if I prevented her from murdering those people, I have saved a couple of victims. In fact, I hoped that by doing this Grell would not have murdered the victims either, being as he only started to as far as I know when he met Madame Red killing one of the victims. However, this idea was proved false because even though he and Madame Red never met, he still committed the crimes, just by himself. There was another reason I did that though; because of Ciel."

"What about the young master inspired you to make that sort of decision?" Sebastian questioned, surprised by her answer.

"Ciel clearly has some issues that are not normal for a twelve year old boy to have," Rosalind whispered. "I don't know exactly what happened to him after that fire, but surely whatever happened coupled with his parents' death was enough to make something in that boy come undone. If he knew the truth about his aunt and she died right afterwards, that just might make him become even more twisted. Personally, I do not think that would be the best idea."

"Why do you care?" This was a question Sebastian often thought about when it came to Miss Rosemary. "Why does it concern you if a few extra people die, or if a few descend further into unhappiness? "

"Now that," The small smile that graced Rosalind's face was sad, mysterious, and gentle all at once. "Is a question that even I myself do not understand entirely. It probably has something to do with love and being human that I can have compassion for other beings."

It then occurred to Sebastian that if he had to choose any word to describe Rosalind, that's what it would be: Human; able to feel easily and comprehend things. Humans, had always both interested and puzzled him, just like Miss Rosemary. A thought then occurred to him.

"You were only able to do what you did tonight with that watch, correct, Miss Rosemary? There would have been no way to do what you just did without it, am I right?"

"Yes," Rosalind answered. "I could not travel through time without it. However, I would not go as far as to say that it was the only tool I used tonight. If a person had that watch but did not know how to use it, it would be useless. I also used my intellect and heart tonight. Those tools are, in my opinion, far more important than any material thing, regardless of how powerful it may be. "

"You certainly do have a point Miss Rosemary," Sebastian agreed. "I was merely wondering if there were other means of time travel besides those watches. They must be very valuable."

"Not as far as I know," Rosalind thought for a moment. "Though that's not to say they don't exist, or won't exist. Also, I feel you should know this: Ordinarily, you should not have remembered Madame Red ever being here or being the killer. Only I should remember that, being as I was the only one of us who traveled though time. I take it that Ciel does not recollect any of the events involving Madame Red before my jump in the time stream, or else he almost definitely would have mentioned it, and even if he didn't surely you would be able to figure it out, wouldn't you, Sebastian?"

"Indeed," Sebastian answered. "The young master cannot hide things from me. I am in the dark as to why I remember even thought I did not travel through time, but perhaps it has something to do with my being a demon?"

"Possibly," Rosalind mused. "Well, it's very late. I should probably retire. Good night Sebastian."

"Good night Miss Rosemary," He was about to turn to leave when he heard Rosalind call, "You can address me by my first name, if you like. Perhaps I have mentioned this before now."

Sebastian could not help but chuckle. It was amazing how Rosalind could mention that at this time of night; after all they had been through.

**A/N: I wanted to include more dialogue between Sebastian and Grell, being as I personally find them to be quite amusing, and Sebastian is very cool during that fight scene, but I was unable to squeeze it all in. Also, I reread manga scans for this chapter, like I usually do for this story, so for those who have only watched the anime, if there were a few new flashbacks in here, that is why, due to the manga having more detail about Madame Red's past than the anime. I apologize for the Grell bashing to any Grell fans out there; I like Grell too but I cannot imagine Rosalind and him liking each other, so it was necessary to include a little. I do not know when my next update will be exactly, but despite it being the end of the Jack the Ripper arc there is still quite a way to go before this fic is anywhere near finished…**

**Please review! :) **


	19. Happy Birthday Batty

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, added to favorites, or followed. *Hands out ice cream celebration * **

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Black Butler / Kuroshitsuji****, or any of the characters in this fanfiction except for my OCs. **

Chapter 19: Happy Birthday Batty

Rosalind Rachel Rosemary stared at the mauve material in her hand, and back at the matching dress that was sprawled out across the table. It was the same dress that the future Batty Rosemary had worn to the party at Viscount Druitt's. The sash and other torn pieces that now resided in her hand were the parts of the dress that Batty had ripped off when her dress had inadvertently got caught on some plant life in the forest behind Viscount Druitt's mansion, and as a result she had to remove the dress in order to escape. Rosalind still did not know what Batty had been trying to warn Sebastian about that night, or why Batty had ran away when she saw her. **  
><strong> Rosalind did distinctly recall that the dress had all been in one piece that night when Batty wore it. Rosalind was unsure of what Batty had bee trying to warn them about at the time, but she appeared to have good intentions. So, if it was necessary for Batty to travel back in time one day, perhaps it would be necessary for Batty to wear the dress and have it look exactly like it did the night of the party. It may seem ridiculous to make a fuss over a dress, but time travel was funny like that. Little things like the clothes someone was wearing could create a paradox, or prevent certain events from taking place, or even dramatically determine the fate of the universe. Ergo, Rosalind decided she must repair the damaged dress in order to prevent something worse from happening than whatever Batty had been trying to warn Sebastian about.

So, here she was now, but she was at the moment currently unable to repair the dress. The reason for this was that Rosalind did not have a needle and thread on her. Even if she had though, Rosalind was unsure of whether or not it would be a good idea to do this by herself. Sewing was not one of Rosalind's strong suits. It was unlikely that she would be able to sew more than a few stitches without something going wrong. After years of learning the craft of sewing at home and at finishing school, Rosalind had still never managed to master the skill.

Rosalind had a nasty habit of unintentionally pricking herself with the needle whilst sewing and often times wound up drawing blood. Needless to say, most sewing projects that Rosalind embarked upon were very, very small. Thus, Rosalind was concerned that in the process of mending the dress she might wind up staining it with blood, or mixing up her stitches. She did have a sewing machine; however it was very rarely used due to Rosalind's stubborn nature and insistence of not spoiling herself or her sisters. They already had luxuries from the future most people in this time period did not possess, so they might as well continue to do some things by hand. Besides, Rosalind wasn't much better with the sewing machine, Thyme could not sew at all, even with the machine, and Rosalind worried Batty would hurt herself using it. So it was that the girls did not use the sewing machine apart from situations where it was absolutely necessary. Anyway, this was a small enough project for her to carry out without needing the machine.

However, she knew someone who could help her. Despite her young age, Batty was rather exceptional at sewing. She decided she would request Batty's assistance.

Rosalind went to Batty's room and knocked on the door. Batty peeked her head out from behind the door. "Hello?"

"Hello Batty," Rosalind greeted. "Would you like to help me with sewing?"

Batty's face lit up; she clapped her hands together and nodded eagerly. "I'll go get my sewing kit!"

**R~R~R~**

Batty and Rosalind were now seated in the dining room, where the dress laid across the table. Batty had brought her sewing kit with her and was at the moment selecting which color thread they should use.

"Oh no, I have been running low on thread lately," Batty observed as she examined the spools of thread, now holding up a deep purple one to the light. "I have not used up the last of my threads yet, but I have used up a lot of them. I used to have some thread that matched this dress almost perfectly, but since I'm out of that, I suppose this will have to do."

Rosalind shifted uncomfortably; Batty's birthday was approaching and she had bought in secret an entire new sewing kit for her and was dying to tell her about it. But she mustn't-she knew- lest she spoil the surprise.

**R~R~R~**

Rosalind and Batty eventually finished mending the dress and it looked- there was no other word for it- perfect. Exactly like it did the night of the party. Batty had questioned Rosalind as to where she had obtained it, to which Rosalind responded that she had bought it for herself at a store; she had tried it on at home, found it did not fit, and when attempting to remove it, she accidentally managed to rip it in the process.

Thyme entered the room when they finished. "Ooh, what is that?"

Rosalind fed her the same lie she had told Batty.

"Can I try it on?" Thyme requested.

"Me too, please!" Batty added.

"All right," Rosalind agreed.

Thyme modeled the dress. Being as the Batty from the future appeared to be around Thyme's age, the dress was only slightly too big for her. There was a reason for this: Due to the time when Thyme was locked up in the lab, she was very malnourished. When Rosalind finally found her, she was unhealthily skinny to the extreme. As a result of Rosalind feeding her properly, Thyme had filled out more since then and gained some more much needed weight, although she was still notably thin and was still underweight.

Another side effect of Thyme's treatment in the lab was that she was not as tall as she could have been because of the experiments performed on her and her not receiving enough nutrients to grow much. She was not dramatically or notably short or anything though; she had grown taller since her time in the lab, and was still growing, but the hem of the dress, which had gone down to the future Batty's ankles, went down to Thyme's feet.

The present Batty now tried on the dress. Of course, it was far too big on her and the three sisters all laughed. Rosalind laughed honestly, but a corner of her mind was occupied on a slightly sad, slightly proud, and darker thought. The Batty she saw before her was only four years going on five years old. Within the next ten years, give or take, the cute but shy little girl in the oversized dress would grow into a brave teenage girl who would travel back into the past to warn Sebastian about some possible future danger, and run away as soon as she saw her own sister.

Rosalind knew it was perhaps a bit childish of her, but when she looked back on that night, sometimes she could not help but feel a bit hurt and annoyed at the elder Batty's actions. _Why didn't you talk to me? Why did you talk to Sebastian but not your own sister, who loves you so much and would never dream of harming you? Why didn't you answer me that night? Why did you run away from me?_

In all honesty, Rosalind actually did feel slightly jealous of Sebastian when those kind of thoughts ran through her head;_ He_ was able to communicate with her sister from the future, despite not having shared all the experiences she and Batty had had with each other, _he_ knew hardly anything about time travel, when she had traveled in time herself on several occasions.

But then Rosalind would stop feeling envious when the more mature, more rational part of her brain reminded her that Batty had been trying to protect her, and that was most likely the reason she would not acknowledge her presence that night.

_Sebastian… _Rosalind sometimes found herself thinking about him more than usual lately. This was in part whenever she recalled the Jack the Ripper ordeal; she had gotten to know him better and spent more time with him, so he was in many of her memories from that case. However, she sometimes found herself thinking about him when it was unnecessary. She wondered about his likes, his dislikes, his hobbies, just his life in general. Although, she reasoned, that was probably merely because he was a demon, an entirely different being than she. But, the only time she could recall ever thinking about a man this much was when-

"Rosalind?" Rosalind was jerked out of her thoughts by Thyme.

"Sorry?"

"I told you Sebastian just got married to a cat."

This brought Rosalind back down to Earth immediately. "WHAT!" That came out much louder than she intended it to, and for some reason she had said it in the tone of voice she would have used if Thyme had rented them a car in the twentieth century without telling her… which actually had happened before.

"Cool your jets, that was meant in jest, my dear sister," Thyme replied smugly. "I had said several things to get your attention earlier, but that finally did the trick. Judging by your reaction, I bet you were thinking about Sebastian weren't you?"

Rosalind felt her face turn pink for some reason. "H-H-how did you know?" She somehow lost control of her speech and was unable to form a concise sentence for a while. Good lord, what was the matter with her? Why was there any reason for her to blush and stammer like this simply because Thyme had caught her thinking about Sebastian? There was nothing wrong with that, so why was she behaving like this?

"Well, judging by your jealous tone of voice, and how your ears immediately perked up when I said his name, I assume you were thinking about Sebastian. Come on, don't hide it from us, we won't judge. We're all sisters here, so give us all the juicy details, sweetheart. Well, actually…" Thyme decided she should revise her previous statement. "If you were thinking anything that was- how should I put it? A little, wink, wink, nudge, nudge-"here Thyme winked at Rosalind and nudged her in the ribs-"…Than maybe Batty should leave the room, and- are you oaky?"

Rosalind clutched her ribcage for a moment after Thyme had accidentally knocked her on the ground from her playful nudging; Thyme always did her best to control her enhanced strength, although just now even with that controlled and gently intended little action, Rosalind's ribcage hurt, although not enough for any bones to have been broken; just enough so that she had the wind knocked out of her temporarily.

Once her breathing was under control again, and she assured her sisters she was fine-which she soon was- she realized the implications behind that statement and gasped, face going completely red. "T-T-Thyme!" Blast, her stutter was back again.

"Yes?" Thyme enquired.

"I-I- was not h-having any-"Here Rosalind paused for a moment, remembering Batty's presence-" Any, um, any… thoughts about Sebastian that are not appropriate for younger listeners about matters certain children would not understand regarding men and women, or what we might refer to as the popular euphemism about general flying animals and certain flying insects, nor have I had any remotely intimate thoughts about that man whatsoever!"

"Rosalind, I already know about the birds and the bees already, calm down." Batty assured her.

Thyme's jaw dropped for once and Rosalind, who had started to get back off the ground, collapsed onto the rug again.

"WHAT?!" Rosalind and Thyme both screamed at precisely the same time.

"HOLY MACARONI WITH FINNY ON TOP, WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT? "Thyme shrieked.

Batty burst into tears. "Why are you yelling at me? "She sobbed. "Did I do something wrong?"

Thyme could not bear to see her sister cry, and immediately joined in." I'm sorry Batty," she wailed. "I never meant to make you cry; please forgive me! I just wanted to know how you knew how babies were born!"

Batty stopped crying and looked very confused indeed. "Wait a minute, what do birds and babies have to do with how babies are born?"

'"Um…" Thyme was at a loss for words for once. Turning to Rosalind, she whispered,"Psst, Rosalind; your turn."

"Well…" Rosalind hesitated, before, like a gift from the heavens, an idea struck her. "Batty, what do you know about the birds and the bees?"

"I know they can both fly," Batty answered. "And that bees are black and yellow and can sting you if you bother them, but that many of them are good for our planet and pollinate flowers! Oh, also the main reason I was crying earlier wasn't so much because of Thyme screaming but because the exclamation she used earlier creeped me out."

"Now that I think about, that expression could be viewed as slightly disturbing, Finny lying on top of a life sized bowl of macaroni," Thyme mused. "Waiting to be eaten. GASP! That would be terrible! No one will eat that lovely sweet innocent strong and adorable gardener for as long as I shall live. No one will ever harm one strawberry blonde hair on his head! Now, if we look at the mental image I painted earlier and assumed he is not going to be eaten, but is merely rolling on top of a field of macaroni… sweet! That's adorable! I want to join him!"

As Thyme fantasized about Finny and macaroni, Batty asked Rosalind innocently," So, what were you and Thyme going to tell me about birds and bees?"

"I'll tell you another time," Rosalind promised, silently praying to whatever merciful force out there that Batty would not ask her about this again for at _least_ five more years.

"Okay!" Batty agreed happily, while Rosalind silently thanked the universe for all of its glory.

"Oh, Rosalind!" Thyme remembered. "I just thought of something: You said you weren't having any intimate thoughts about Sebastian, but you never said you weren't having any _romantic_ thoughts about him."

"Thyme, when I said intimate that qualified for thoughts ranging from anything risqué, to me making a cake for him and him complimenting me." Rosalind snapped.

"All right, all right," Thyme backed off. "I was simply trying to decrease the tension. No need to get your knickers in a twist."

"There wouldn't be any tension to begin with if you had not begun that conversation in the first place." Rosalind reminded her, slightly exasperated.

Thyme had to admit she was right, but Thyme being Thyme, was much too stubborn to admit it aloud, and instead retorted," You keep telling yourself that darling."

"Rosalind may Thyme and I please go over to Ciel's house?" Batty asked suddenly.

_She's an angel,_ Rosalind cogitated. _I have work to do anyway, and the quality and quantity of the amount of work I could finish would both most likely increase if they're gone. _"Certainly, Batty."

Thyme ran out of the room, hollering," Great idea Batty! This means I get to see Finny again!"

"Thank you," Rosalind stated secretively to Batty so that Thyme could not hear them.

"Any time," she whispered back. "Besides, maybe Ciel has some Funtom toys he would like me to test for him."

**R~R~R~**

Ciel was filling out some paper work for Funtom, when he heard a knock at his door.

"Come in." He drawled, not looking up. He heard the door open and a sweet but timid voice speak.

"Um, Ciel." Batty stood right in front of the door, looking at the ground.

He looked up. "Yes, what is it Batty?" Batty, without a doubt, annoyed him the least out of the three Rosemary sisters. She never gave him much trouble; she was quiet and well behaved for the most part, unless she was going along with one of Thyme's elaborate schemes, due to her being too young to know better. She also had helped his sales of Funtom toys; having a child test out the toys proved to be very effective in determining younger children's tastes. Moreover, she was such a sweet and cute little girl; it was hard to bear any negative feelings against her.

"May I please play with some of the toys for Funtom? Do you have any new ones I could please ,um, test for you?" Batty asked politely. "Thyme just arrived to see Finny, and I was wondering if there was anything I could help with."

That was another reason Ciel actually was a bit fond of Batty (Not that he'd say it out loud): She was always trying to help, and she usually succeeded in helping him, whether it was cleaning the mansion or experimenting with toys or his company.

"Of course Batty, I'll go tell Sebastian to show you where they are and have him take notes while I finish my work. Sebastian!" He barked.

"Yes My Lord?" Batty nearly jumped out of her skin; Sebastian had arrived astoundingly quickly.

"Batty would like to experiment with our products. Observe her and when she is done report back to me." Ciel ordered sharply.

"Yes, My Lord. "Sebastian bowed and took Batty away.

**R~R~R~**

Batty thoroughly enjoyed playing with the toys. Sebastian took notes in the meantime, thinking to himself similar thoughts that Rosalind had been thinking earlier: Batty and her future self. He was coming up with theories for Batty's behavior that night, but he did not know if any of them were correct. He wondered if Rosalind had any theories…

"Sebastian?"

"Yes, Miss Batty," He smiled the polite smile he normally showed Ciel's guests; it was not his true smile. No one seemed to see this except for one person: Rosalind Rosemary. He wondered why she could see it when others could not.

"My birthday is coming up soon Mr. Sebastian." Batty informed him shyly. "August 15th."

"Is it really?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was getting at.

"It is," Batty confirmed. "So, Mr. Sebastian, I haven't talked to Rosalind about this yet, but… would you two be okay with having your wedding on my birthday?"

Whatever Sebastian had been expecting it hadn't been that. He tried not to lose his calm demeanor, though. "I beg your pardon?"

"Well, Thyme said to me on the way over, that you two would be getting married any day now, so I was just wondering if you two could get married on my birthday, because I thought it would be really fun if we could celebrate two events on the same day. But if you two would like to postpone it to a later date, that would be okay. I'm sorry if I bothered you by asking that. I just didn't know you two were engaged and well, it would have been nice if I had known sooner, so we could have more time to plan this out. Now that I think about it, my birthday's only days away, so there's no way you two could plan it all in time. That was a really dumb question to ask. I didn't mean to upset you, if I did. Oh, I hope I didn't! I'm sorry!" Batty finished.

"Miss Batty, you did not upset me," Sebastian stated calmly. It was true; she had not upset him, only shocked him by the randomness and ludicrousness of her statement. "However, you should know your sister and I are not engaged."

"You're not?" Batty blinked.

"No," Sebastian assured her.

"Then why did Thyme say such a thing?" Batty wondered.

"One never can tell with your sister." In truth, Sebastian knew he could assume that Thyme was implying they held romantic feelings for each other, but he did not feel comfortable telling Batty that. _What an utterly ridiculous statement for her to have made. _These were the thoughts going through Sebastian's head as he reflected on Thyme's comment. _In no way is it at all true: Even if we both harbored the feelings normal couples in love have for each other, it would not matter for it would never be. She is a human and I am a demon. I am a butler and she is not a servant and is financially more well off than I. In fact, apart from money spent on material things that allow me to blend in in this disguise as a human, I have no money. _

_Moreover, where did Miss Thyme get such a foolish notion that we were in love with each other in the first place? It would be most out of character for Miss Rosemary to feel anything towards me apart from respect. Although I do find her company entertaining, her comments honest and witty, enjoy being able to have an intelligent conversation with someone other than the young master for once, find her behavior interesting and amusing, and perhaps she is one of the few humans I actually respect, and she is unlike most humans in this society, that does not in any mean I am in… love with her. I respect her; nothing more, nothing less. _

_This is not something I need to spend any more valuable time thinking about. My, there is so much incompetence among humans._

However, as Batty continued playing with the toys, Sebastian could not help but hear the words Batty had said Thyme told her, resounding in his head over again, but he decide to pay no mind to it. What good would come of thinking about it? It was just one meaningless little exchange that would not impact his life.

**R~R~R~**

Once Batty finished playing with the toys for Funtom, she ran off to find Thyme and Sebastian went to go see if his young master needed him. Once he was in the hall, he found Thyme talking on the phone.

"Really? That would be great! Thank you so much! See you soon!" She hung up the phone.

"Miss Thyme who were you calling?" As he asked her this, he remembered what Batty had repeated what Thyme had claimed earlier. He silently hoped she was not planning on telling the whole world that and was now calling people to tell them that.

"Oh, hello Sebastian Honey!" Thyme chirped. "I was just calling Elizabeth Middleford to ask if she would assist me in planning Batty's birthday party. She should be here soon."

"I see," Sebastian felt relieved that that was all it was, but at the same time he suspected that by the end of the day, if Lady Elizabeth came here and reunited with Thyme, that something was bound to go horribly wrong. "And have you told the young master about this?"

"No," Thyme replied nonchalantly. "Should I have?"

Sebastian sighed. "Very well, I shall go inform him. By the way, your sister is looking for you. She went that way. "He pointed to one of the ends of the hall, where he had come from.

"Oh, thank you Sebastian Honey!" Thyme was about to run to where Sebastian had directed her, when he said, "Where is Miss Rosemary, Miss Thyme?"

"Oh, she had to say at home to do some homework she had to finish for the medical school she's going to or something like that. Why?" Thyme answered.

Sebastian had been curious about her location- in case Thyme and Elizabeth caused so much trouble that the young master requested that the Rosemary sisters go back to wherever the eldest of the three was- when a thought occurred to him.

"Are you aware that the reason Miss Rosemary is attending medical school is so she can take care of you and your younger sister?"

Thyme nodded, and for once a look of serenity came across her features. "Yes," she responded quietly, more to herself than to him." I am. And I am so proud of her for doing so. If I were in her position, I do not know what I would do. I am truly quite fortunate to have such a good older sister like her. I am certain that I would not survive without her. At times I do feel guilty for putting her through so much trouble, whether it be from my super strength or my being a magnet for trouble, but I try not to be, for I know she would not like that. She wants me to be happy, and _enjoy_ life, so I am now."

There was a moment of silence, before Thyme saw Finny in the garden outside the window, shrieked his name, and ran downstairs. Sebastian sighed; he much preferred this mature version of Thyme than the one she had just reverted back to.

**R~R~R~**

Ciel put his head in his hands and groaned once Sebastian told him the news.

"I apologize Young Master, I was unable to prevent her from making the phone call until it was too late. "Sebastian bowed deeply.

Ciel sat up straight again and grumbled," Just make sure they stay out of trouble, that Elizabeth does not redecorate my mansion, and that nothing is broken in the process. Understood?"

Sebastian bowed again. "Yes, My Lord." He left the room as Ciel dismissed him.

**R~R~R~**

"CIEL~!" A high pitched voice shrieked gleefully as its owner ran into the room Ciel was sitting in, and enveloped him in a hug. "Are you surprised to see me?" Elizabeth solicited cheerily.

"Not particularly, Elizabeth; I knew you would be coming." Ciel stated dully once his fiancée finally stopped hugging him.

"Oh, don't call me that!" The girl with curly golden pigtails scolded him lightly." I'm always trying to have you call me Lizzie; Elizabeth is _so_ formal. Lizzie is so much cuter instead, don't you think?"

"Hmm," Ciel wasn't particularly interested in this conversation.

"Anyway, that's not the reason I came to talk to you though. I was thinking that since Batty's birthday is coming up and Thyme and I are planning a party, that it would be nice if you got her a gift." Lizzie informed him.

"A gift?" Ciel repeated. "But why?"

"Well, it is customary to give people presents on their birthdays," Lizzie reminded him. "And Batty is such a cute girl who is only about to turn five years old, so," Lizzie's tone of voice suddenly lost all its sweetness and friendliness, and looked Ciel right in the face menacingly. "I think it could be good of you to give her a present for her special day. What do you think, Ciel?"

"But Lizzie, what could I possibly get her?" Ciel knew that angering his fiancée was not a good idea, so he decided calling her by the name she preferred might make her drop the topic.

"You could give her one of your Funtom toys," Lizzie suggested brightly, tone of voice innocent sounding again.

"Lizzie, I need those for the company!" Ciel reminded her.

"Oh come on, Ciel, surely you could just spare one toy to make a little girl who has helped you happy on her special day." And then she did it; something that could not let Ciel say no to her: She opened her green eyes wide and gave him in what years to come would be known as the puppy dog pout. Ordinarily he would have been able to not cave in had this been anyone else, but no, this was Lizzie. And so-

"Very well, Lizzie," he admitted defeat. "I shall."

"Oh thank you Ciel, thank you!" Lizzie exclaimed as she lifted him up and spun him around in circles.

"Y-You're welcome!" He managed before Lizzie ran off to find Thyme.

**R~R~R~**

The day of Batty's birthday finally arrived. The Rosemary sisters made sure to hide any objects they had from the future before guests arrived at their house, which Lizzie had almost redecorated with flowers and streamers and stuffed animals. Ciel, Sebastian and all of the other Phantomhive servants were invited over to the girls' house, and Lizzie showed up as well. Lizzie had decorated the sisters' house, and had only stopped by Phantomhive Manor to talk to Batty and Thyme there to plan the party. Rosalind baked a cake. It was chocolate with vanilla frosting and was delicious. Everyone except for Sebastian ate some of the cake. Sebastian chose to exempt from this being as most human food disgusted him.

Then the presents came. Batty was given a pink stuffed rabbit from Ciel and Sebastian. Finny, Bard, and Maylene gave her a flower they had found in the yard. It was a beautiful yellow rose. Lizzie's gift was a porcelain doll with golden curls and baby blue eyes…. And it looked almost exactly like Batty. Everyone, whether they showed it or not, was stunned by the resemblance. Rosalind presented her gift to Batty: A new sewing kit.

"Oh!" Batty gushed when she saw it. It had threads of an array of colors, needles, thimbles, and everything she needed. "Thank you, Rosalind! Where did you get it?"

"Do you remember when we went on that shopping trip when we were working on the Jack the Ripper case?"

Batty nodded.

"Do you remember me leaving you and everyone else to go off on my own?"

Batty nodded once more. "During that time I was shopping for a birthday present for you, I found these, and I knew you'd like them." Rosalind finished, tucking a lank mousy strand of her hair behind her ear, in an attempt to get it off her face. "That's what I was doing that day." Rosalind looked at Sebastian from the corner of her eye as she spoke, which bore into his, brown into brown. Sebastian had wondered where Rosalind had gone that day, and had interrogated her about it, but she had refused to divulge any information. Here was his answer. She must not have answered him earlier because she did not want to spoil the surprise.

Finally, Thyme presented Batty with her present. Batty gasped when she saw it. It was a lifelike water color painting of her Thyme had made herself.

"Thank you, Thyme!" She squealed.

Thyme grinned. "Anything for you, Princess, anytime."

**A/N: I decided to update today, which is the same day as Batty's birthday in the story, which originally was August 5****th**** but I changed it to August 15****th**** so that more time could pass from the Jack the Ripper Arc. (They'd have gotten back right before her birthday if I kept the original date, and I wanted there to be a bit of a time skip.) Speaking of birthdays, coincidentally enough today is Julia Child's 100****th**** birthday. **

**Please review! :D **


	20. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup

**Thanks so very much to everyone who has reviewed, added to favorites, or followed this far! *Hands out cyber 20****th**** chapter celebration.* The titles of the books belonging to Rosalind in this chapter are made up by me, and any resemblance to any actual books is coincidental. Now begins another anime arc… Houndsworth. Please enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I ****do not own ****Black Butler / Kuroshitsuji****. Or the ****Powerpuff Girls****. **

Chapter 20:Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup

Ciel sat in his study, sorting through paperwork as Sebastian served him tea. He came upon a letter from the Queen. Upon opening it and reading through it, he announced to his butler, "We are going on a trip."

"In this season?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow; it was early September, and most people would not be vacationing at this time of the year.

Ciel took a sip of the tea Sebastian had laid out for him. "Sebastian, are you familiar with the leisure activity know as bear-baiting?"

"It seems entertaining and the name sounds fairly amusing, but I'm afraid not."Sebastian replied.

"It is a sport where the participants tie a bear to a fence with a rope or chord and fighting dogs surrounded it, bite at it, and kill it." Ciel responded stoically.

"My my, how very human." Sebastian noted dryly with a smile.

"It was banned by the Cruelty to Animals Act of 1835,"Ciel informed him." But there was a loop hole; the law didn't apply to the attack dogs. What do you think happened then?"

Sebastian raised a finger to his lips, pondering.

"I imagine they had the dogs attack their own kind. Now let's see, would that be called "dog-baiting?"

"There's a village doing just that: Houndsworth. The place was originally famous for rearing hunting dogs, but behind closed doors they…" Ciel chose to let that sentence hang as he took a bite of his cake. "The Queen is heart sick. We'll secure the village under pretext of making it a health resort. That is the goal of this journey."

"A village full of dogs, hmm?" Said Sebastian thoughtfully, as though to himself.

"What is it?" Ciel enquired.

"Merely that securing a construction site seems like quite a trifling job for you to be concerned with." Sebastian answered.

"There is a reason."

"Hmm?"

"The reason why I, the House of Phantomhive, must go to Houndsworth in person."

"Would I be correct in assuming that the Rosemary sisters will be accompanying us?" Sebastian questioned knowingly.

"Yes."Ciel commanded. "Go tell them of our journey right now."

"As you wish My Lord."Sebastian bowed and then exited the room.

**R~R~R~**

Sebastian walked over to the Rosemary' cottage and rang the doorbell. A moment later Rosalind answered the door. Her hair was piled atop her head in a messy and frizzy brown bun, and her attire consisted of a raggedy and old looking dress where the top part was a faded yellow and the rest brown, although at the moment every single part of her dress appeared to be stained with flour, and cooking batter.

In fact, as he looked at her now, he noticed she had some flour on her nose and a hint of cooking batter under her left eyelid, with a hint of chocolate icing on the side of her mouth.

"Oh, hello!" Rosalind exclaimed rather breathlessly."Sebastian, I did not expect to see you here! Oh come in, I baked a cake that Thyme, Batty, and I just finished eating."

Ah, that would explain her appearance.

"Thyme!" Rosalind called into the house. "Please hide any items in the sitting room from the future that could have negative effects on the time stream if Sebastian were to see them in our home."

"Okay!" Thyme's voice called back.

"This will only take a minute." Rosalind assured Sebastian. " Sorry about that, but we aren't supposed to let anyone from this time period who is not a time traveler to see any items that we may have that have not been invented yet, lest it may possibly cause damage to the space time continuum. "

"…I see," Sebastian nodded. "It is unnecessary for you to hide any of your belongings however, Miss Rosemary. This will take but a moment of your time-"

"I finished!" Thyme's voice interrupted, as she walked into the doorway."Hello Sebastian Darling, how are you?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow."I was under the impression that you preferred to address me as "Sebastian Honey?"

"Well I decided that Sebastian Darling has a nicer ring to it." Thyme explained. "But if you rather that I'd refer to addressing you by-"

"I assure you, that is most unnecessary Miss Thyme." Sebastian put on the smile he often wore when speaking to acquaintances of the young master, particularly when it came to Thyme: The smile that made him appear perfectly calm and non -threatening, while on the inside a dark aura was brooding. He only acted on this aura when someone was endangering his young master, however; there was no point in scaring people who did not pose an immediate threat towards his master.

"In that case, welcome to our home Sebastian Darling, would you like anything to a drink, or perhaps a slice of cake?" Thyme greeted him warmly.

"No thank you."

Thyme and Rosalind both walked into the house, and Sebastian took that as his cue to follow.

" Why don't you both sit down? Rosalind, since you are covered with flour, frosting and batter, why don't you got into the powder room and freshen up? Maybe change you dress while you're at it." Thyme suggested.

"That's a nice suggestion but that would be pointless Thyme; I will return to cooking again shortly."Rosalind reminded her, wondering what her sister had up her sleeve.

"Well, might you not want to change your clothes so as not to get any food on the furniture?"Thyme plowed on.

"There is a towel on that chair over there, as you can see Thyme. That is where I was sitting just a moment ago."Rosalind motioned toward a chair covered by a light blue towel, which had a text book with a book mark in it lying on said chair. Rosalind then proceeded to sit down.

"In that case then, I'll just leave you two alone, I have er, something to do." Thyme told them airily.

"Oh? What do you have to do Thyme?"Rosalind questioned suspiciously.

"I have to um…" She thought for a moment. "I have to go feed Charnold."

"Who or what is Charnold?" Rosalind asked apprehensively.

"No one," Thyme said quickly.

"I believe Charnold is the spider Miss Thyme decided to adopt when we were in London. I take it you were unaware of this decision on her part?" Sebastian added, observing the look of horror that was now written across Rosalind's features.

"No she most definitely did not mention that." Rosalind stood up. "Thyme, what-"

"Toodles!" Thyme ran out of the room. Rosalind looked for a moment as though she were about to chase after Thyme, but then decided it was not worth it and would interrogate her later. She sat back down and Sebastian did the same. Meanwhile Thyme had her ear pressed against the keyhole in the door she was hiding behind outside as she eavesdropped.

"So Sebastian, what brings you here?" Rosalind was saying now.

"The young master has received a letter from the Queen, requesting that he go visit a town known as Houndsworth under the pretext of turning the village into a health resort." Sebastian enlightened.

"What is the main purpose for the journey in actuality?" Rosalind pondered curiously.

"In the town of Houndsworth, there is a practice, I do not know whether or not you are familiar with this, known as dog baiting-"

"Oh yes, I know what that horrid activity is." Rosalind stated gravely. "I happen to belong to an animal rights group within The Agency that fights against that."

"The purpose of our assignment is to investigate and put an end to this practice." There was a tone in Sebastian's voice suggesting he did not think this was a worthy goal.

"What do you think of this mission, Sebastian?" Rosalind could sense he felt this task was dubious.

"It does not matter what I-"  
>Rosalind cut him off before he could continue."Do not give me that. We have gone over this many times before."<p>

"I dislike dogs with a passion, so I find this task a waste of my time. However, my master is intent on going to the village and therefore I shall go with him." Sebastian stated stoically.

"…I may not agree with you, but thank you for being honest." Rosalind said after a moment.

Neither had anything to say after this. Sebastian surveyed the room for a moment when his eyes fell on the book in Rosalind's lap.

"What are you reading, Miss Rosemary?" He solicited.

Rosalind held up the book so he could see the title. It was entitled_ Top ten Martial Arts of the Nineteenth Century_. "Ever since the Jack the Ripper case, I thought it would be useful if my sisters and I learned some self defense. While it is true that Thyme has super strength and can most likely knock out any opponent who attacks her if that ever happens, and I do have pepper spray to use on people in an emergency, I do recall that when Madame Red attempted to kill Ciel in that other time line and I punched her, the only real element I had on my side was the element of surprise; my blow was not effective enough for us to escape in time.

Also, I was too involved emotionally in what was going on; Madame Red had been attempting to kill her own nephew, who is but a child. I was outraged. Thus my emotions got the better of me so I was unable to think as clearly as I normally do. Instead of taking Ciel to safety using my Agency watch, I started to lecture Madame Red about attempting to kill Ciel.

As for Batty, I do not believe – or at least, I certainly hope not- that she will be in a situation where self defense is necessary any time soon. However, simply because she may not need to use it is no reason as to why she should not learn how to defend herself. I cannot find any reason as to why it would negatively impact her to learn it, provided that she learns in a safe and controlled learning environment and that she is not being pushed into doing something she truly does not wish to do, and that her teacher is aware of her young age and therefore uses teaching methods more suitable for her age group.

I think if Thyme studies some sort of martial art it may be able to teach her how to control her strength better. As for me, if I am ever in a scenario similar to the one I described earlier I will be able to defend myself and my loved ones better. Right now I am researching into what forms and methods of self defense would be most suitable for us to learn. "

"Once you discover what means of self defense you would like to learn, where exactly will you be able to learn? I do not know of any places that teach women how to physically defend themselves. " Sebastian pointed out.

"I know, and that's the problem." Rosalind acknowledged thoughtfully."I know that at the Agency there are courses that teach various martial arts. The classes are not mandatory but they are highly recommended. I've been meaning to sign us up for them for some time now, but I've never managed to get around to doing that, what with my attending medical school, working for The Agency and taking classes at The Agency as well as simply caring for Thyme and Batty.

Did you know that some days I just use my Agency watch to travel backwards and forwards through time just to get more than one activity done at once? Occasionally I even do that just for some extra relaxation or to get some extra sleep. Besides, I do not think they would let Batty in the class being as she is not a member of The Agency."

Sebastian did not speak for a moment; he was thinking.

" Would you like to have a slice of cake?"Rosalind broke the silence.

"I cannot think of a reason as to why I should not." Sebastian replied. He remembered there were still a couple of things he had left to say.

"Oh good, I'll go cut you a slice." Rosalind announced and went in the kitchen. A minute later she returned carrying a pan with a yellow cake with chocolate frosting on it. "Why don't you come in the dining room? There's a table there where you can put the plate on as you eat… and I'd rather not have to worry about frosting unintentionally getting on the furniture in the sitting room."

Sebastian was not offended by this request. "Indeed. I was actually about to suggest that I eat in some other room with a table; as a butler, I understand how bothersome it is to remove food stains from furniture. "

Sebastian followed Rosalind into the dining room and seated himself. She sat down next to him.

He picked up his fork and took a bite of the cake. As a demon, he could eat human food but it could not satisfy his hunger the way that souls could. He did not eat human food very often; he had only agreed to try the cake out of politeness.

The cake wasn't half bad. Oh, it wasn't, he was sure, anywhere near as good as what he could make, and he had tasted better cake in the past, but it was still good.

"Do you like it?" Rosalind solicited casually.

" Yes." Sebastian stated truthfully.

"Would you like anything to drink with it?" Rosalind enquired generously.

"No thank you, Miss Rosemary." Sebastian answered.

"Once again, you _really_ do not need to address me as such." Rosalind reminded him through gritted teeth, not really annoyed, but slightly exasperatedly.

Sebastian chuckled as Rosalind crossed her arms upon hearing his laugh. A thought then occurred to him. He picked up the napkin Rosalind had given him and leaned in close to her. Her eyes widened as their faces were only inches away from each other and as he raised his arm, used the napkin to wipe the frosting from the corner of her mouth. She blinked. "W-Whatever are you doing, Sebastian?"

_Drat, not that blasted stutter again. Oh, I must not go red. I must not blush. I must not allow even a hint of pink to reach my cheeks… _She then remembered Sebastian saying he liked her cake. Almost immediately after that thought she reminisced about the conversation she and Thyme had had a few weeks prior about Rosalind thinking about Sebastian…

Rosalind was fighting a losing battle and knew it, if that smug smirk plastered across Sebastian's face was anything to go by. She looked away from him- being sure that it was not too quick but not too slow either- and caught her appearance in the mirror: Sure enough her complexion had taken on the appearance of a ripe tomato. She also had a few specks of powder and batter on her face, but she didn't care about that.

"You had frosting on your mouth, Miss Rosemary," Sebastian informed her in an offhand sort of voice, as though nothing had happened, but his chocolate brown eyes were glinting with mischief. _Chocolate brown, _Rosalind mused to herself. _That's exactly how I would describe them. Like deep bottomless pits of chocolate that can pierce through a person and see into their soul. _

"You have more cooking ingredient on your face, Miss Rosemary. Would you like me to continue to assist you in removing them?"

That snapped Rosalind out of her train of thought. _Such foolish thoughts, _ she scolded herself and responded in a voice as cool and calm as possible, "No, that is not necessary Sebastian. I shall wipe them off myself, thank you."Her body was screaming yes, but she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

Rosalind then realized something. When she had been trying to convince Thyme she had not been having any romantic thoughts about Sebastian Michaelis, she had included him complimenting him on a cake she had baked for him… _and he just had._ True, when she had said that, she had meant for it to come off as that being only very remotely romantic, but, didn't that little ,er, _moment _they had just shared definitely counted?

Rosalind hastily hid her undoubtedly blushing face with a napkin as she wiped off any traces of lingering flour or batter.

Right at that moment Batty burst into the room. "Rosalind, may I please have another slice of cake? Oh, hello Mr. Sebastian."

"Hello Miss Batty," Sebastian greeted.

"I'm sorry Batty but you can't have another slice; you've already had two slices; isn't that enough?" Rosalind answered, both eternally thankful and for some strange reason annoyed that Batty had interrupted them.

"Okay," Batty shrugged. "I'll go back to playing with my dolls then." Batty skipped out of the room. On her way out they heard her call,"Thyme! Do you want to play dolls with me?"

Thyme let out an audible groan from behind the door, which was now closed. "Darn it Batty, I was listening to them and it sounded as if they were just about to kiss or something."

"Thyme, you do realize that if you can hear everything they're saying through that door, than they can hear you talking right now?"Batty pointed out.

"They can?" Thyme exclaimed.

"Yes, we can." Sebastian called from behind the door.

"And we knew you were behind there the whole time. What have I told you about eavesdropping Thyme? It's quite rude." In truth Rosalind had forgotten that Thyme had been listening in to their conversation behind the door once they reached the dining room; Thyme had listened to them when they were in the living room at the top of the stairs, and after they had entered the dining room and closed the door behind them, she had thought she had heard footsteps right outside the door, and strongly suspected that they had belonged to Thyme. Once Sebastian had wiped her face with the napkin though, her mind went completely blank about Thyme.

Thyme, having been found out, went upstairs grumbling.

"Miss Rosemary, now that both of your sisters have left, there is a rather pressing matter I felt urgent to discuss." Sebastian used his demonic hearing to confirm that the two younger girls were gone before saying this. "Since that night at Viscount Druitt's, have you given any more thought concerning Miss Batty? Have you managed to unearthed any new discoveries pertaining to that?"

This was the reason Sebastian had agreed to eat Rosalind's cake and stay at the house longer than necessary; he needed to know if there was any new information in relation to this that may impact his master in any way. He had talked to Rosalind, but chose not to divulge this particular question when he knew that Thyme was stationed outside the door. So he had made small talk until Batty had entered the room. He had just been about to inform Rosalind- although he had suspected that she was already aware of this- that Thyme was listening to them, when Batty chose that moment to enter the room. Sebastian enjoyed the effect that he could have on humans; he could make them flustered at just the slightest words or actions. In particular he enjoyed doing this to Miss Rosemary, but he knew that he should not stay for much longer, and decided to pose this question now.

"I have not found any new information in accordance to that, however," Rosalind enlightened him. "Do you recall how Batty's dress was torn when she took it off that night in order to escape more quickly? Well, I repaired the dress with Batty's help, and have decided to keep it. I do not know what the elder Batty's intentions were that night, but from what I gathered it does not appear she meant any harm, so I decided to keep the dress so that when she is older if she goes into the past to that night, she will look exactly as she did that night. It may sound silly to make such a big deal over one dress, but time travel is funny like that; little, seemingly meaningless things can have a surprisingly big impact on the future some times. If Batty came back wearing a different dress that night, it could create a time paradox."

"I beg your pardon?" Not once in Sebastian's long life as a demon, not even when he was posing as a human, had he ever heard this term.

"A time paradox is when one travels back in time and makes a change that will impact the future in an impossible way." Rosalind elaborated."For example, if a person were to travel back in time in order to meet their father before their father met their mother and somehow accidentally killed their father, thus meaning that the father never met the mother and therefore the child was never born, or at least not to its original parents, the son or daughter would never have existed yet still traveled back in time and unintentionally killed their father. That may sound farfetched, but scenarios like that have certainly occurred in time travel before."

"This may very well come off as sounding redundant, but are time paradoxes good or bad?"Sebastian wondered aloud thoughtfully.

"That depends on the situation at hand as well as the paradox," Rosalind answered. "Here is another example: On the Jack the Ripper case, Madame Red and Grell were originally the murderers, however when I traveled back in time I prevented Madame Red from ever having committed the killings. But if she had never killed anyone, there would be no reason for me to have gone back in time to try and stop her. Both events did occur, and that actually is a perfect example of a paradox. In the time line that we are in, everyone apart from you and I are not aware that in another time line she actually was Jack the Ripper. I am aware because I changed the events. I still have not figured out how you remember on the other hand. Anyway, paradoxes can be bad and have devastating effects on the time line as well. In other instances they are neither good nor bad.

However, it is usually best to try to create as little paradoxes as possible whilst time traveling, because although it is possible for the effects to be harmless, it is also possible for the effects, in some extreme cases, change a dramatically important event in history that can negatively impact the time stream… even go as far as creating an actual whole in it. It is possible that Batty's attire at the time is of little relevance and will create only a small paradox that will not damage the time stream. However it is also possible that, even if it does not tear a whole in the universe or anything that disastrous, it can create a dangerous paradox; Batty had on another ball gown underneath her dress.

I know because when she took it off I remember thinking how strange that was and wondered if perhaps there was a reason she needed to wear a different dress in front of us. In conclusion, to avoid creating any paradoxes be it harmless or deadly, I decided we should have the dress on hand for that night." Rosalind finished.

Sebastian nodded in comprehension, letting all of this sink in."If you find any more information about your younger sister concerning this matter Miss Rosemary, do let me know."

"I am afraid I cannot make that promise, Sebastian." Rosalind stated firmly.

Sebastian's irises flashed red. "And why would that be? Miss Rosemary, I am bound by contract to the young master, and must protect him at all costs. It is of the utmost importance that I know about the situation at hand, lest it endanger my master in any way shape or form. If you are or are planning on concealing anything from me that may help me protect my master by my having knowledge of it, I would advise you to tell me now. I do not wish to force any information out of you at any time, but if the need arises so that I may protect my master in doing so, I will not hesitate."

"Did it ever occur to you Sebastian that the reason I had said that was _because_ it actually could protect Ciel by my not telling you everything?"If Rosalind was scared she was doing a rather excellent job of hiding it; she was looking Sebastian straight in the eye as she spoke, and her voice was clipped and cold. She did not break eye contact, her fierce brown gaze penetrating into his own. "As a member of The Agency, it is possible in order to protect people that I cannot reveal certain information to them. However, I assure that the only reason I would hide information from you would be if there was any possible harm in my telling you. At the moment, I have told you all I know about Batty's journey from the future into the past."

Sebastian looked at her for a moment, and decided he believed her. "Very well then Miss Rosemary. I shall take my leave."

Rosalind showed him the door and he left.

**R~R~R~**

A few days later, the Rosemary's, Ciel, and the Phantomhive servants were all on their way to Houndsworth. It was a cloudy day out, and though it was only September the weather was a bit on the brisk side. The group adorned sweaters, shawls, and scarves. The servants, apart from Sebastian who was driving the carriage for them, were cheering about their good fortune.

"Isn't this wonderful, Maylene? I'm so excited!" Finny exclaimed euphorically.

"Yes! Yes! I can't believe the young master is taking us with him to the Queen's health resort!" Maylene squealed, grasping her hands together.

"I guess even the young master can be quite generous when he wants to be."Bard grinned.

"YAY!" Maylene and Finny agreed.

"YAHOO!" Thyme added happily. Thyme was sitting with the servants in their cart, even though she could have been sitting with her sisters, who were sitting in the front with Ciel. Thyme had insisted on sitting here however, so that she could be closer to Finny. Everyone was pleased by this decision; Thyme and Finny because they could be closer to each other, and everyone else because they figured that Thyme would be less annoying if she was with Finny.

Meanwhile, Rosalind was reading a book entitled _The Wonders of Microbiology _ while Batty was sewing stitches using her new sewing kit onto a piece of fabric. Ciel was simply sitting around, looking bored.

"They are fortunate people," Sebastian smiled at Ciel. "It appears they're grateful to you, my _kind_ young master."

"I didn't want to leave them behind by themselves and come back to find my manor completely destroyed," Ciel reminded him.

"Indeed." Sebastian could not argue with that logic.

The carriages now reached a brown haggard looking old sign that read _Welcome to Houndsworth._ A tree where metal dog collars and chains hung from it was in view. Skulls of dogs rested on the ground below the tree.

"This would appear to be the the entrance to the village." Sebastian stated calmly, as if their surroundings were perfectly normal and not at all uncommon or disturbing. Then again, as a demon, Rosalind mused, he had probably seen far worse than this.

Finny, Maylene, Bard, and Thyme screeched.

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you one thing- this is the _planned_ construction site for the resort."Ciel told them nonchalantly.

"Young master," The cook, maid, and gardener moaned.

"Ho, ho," Tanaka supplied.

"Tana would just like to say he is most disappointed by this development, Ciel Baby." Thyme translated.

"Is that an exact translation Thyme? I highly doubt that Tanaka would address me as such."Ciel quipped.

"I may have adlibbed a little." Thyme admitted.

"Rosalind, what are those things beneath that tree?" Batty tugged on Rosalind's sleeve nervously.

Rosalind thought a moment before answering. She did not want to frighten the child by telling her the truth, but she did not think she should lie to her either. "Those are nothing for you to think or worry about Batty. They are not worth your time; they are of no importance to you."

And thus, Rosalind was able to calm Batty's anxieties without lying to her. Rosalind was not one to believe in superstition, but for once she decided that seeing a tree with metal chains and what appeared to be of skulls was a very bad omen indeed.

Finny suddenly pointed to an approaching figure in the distance. "Look, somebody actually lives here! "An elderly woman was pushing a baby carriage that was stuck in the mud. "Stop the carriage, Mr. Tanaka!" Tanaka stopped the carriage(he was driving the servants' cart while Sebastian drove the cart Ciel, Rosalind, and Batty were in) and Finny jumped out and approached the elderly woman.

"Here, let me help you Granny," Finny offered, extending a hand to her.

Maylene gasped. "-No, Finny! If you're not careful, the baby will-"

"What?" Finny enquired, holding the carriage over his head without thinking. Then he realized what he was doing and slammed the carriage back down. "I AM SO SORRY!"

"Oh dear this is awful, is the baby okay?" Maylene cried, peering over Bard's shoulder. They all gasped. Inside the carriage was not a baby as they had expected, but instead the skeleton of a small dog lay in the carriage.

"This child was eaten by it," The woman whispered morosely. She walked away, singing to herself, while the occupants of the carriages behind her, sans Sebastian and Ciel, looked on in horror. _"The white dog is a good dog, a good dog good." _She sang.

"Eaten?" The Phantomhive servants echoed.

"_The disobedient bad dog is a bad dog. Lullaby, the sun sets."_

"Apparently there are many villagers currently missing or that were found viciously murdered," Ciel frowned, thinking.

"_Lullaby and goodnight." _The woman continued to sing.

"Part of my job is to find the cause of those problems and dispose of it."

"_If you don't go to sleep the dog will come down here. He'll gobble your flesh down to the bone." _They heard the woman sing until she faded away into the distance.

"Rosalind, what's going on? I'm scared." Batty murmured, leaning up and burying her face into Rosalind' s shoulder.

"I don't know Sweetheart."Rosalind made certain to keep and signs of worry out of her voice."But let's try and make the best of this. Don't dwell anymore about what just happened Batty. Now, what is it that you are making?"

As Batty talked to Rosalind about what she was making, everyone in the carriages was more or less thinking the same thing: This could not be good.

**R~R~R~**

Eventually the group started seeing houses. An attractive young man with shaggy brown hair outside of a house near the beach focused on training one of five dogs in a crate.

"Sit." The man commanded gently. The dog sat.

"Lie down." The dog obliged.

"Oh, good boy! Good boy!" The youth praised, laughing and petting his dog happily as the dog licked him. Maylene sighed dreamily as she observed this, blushing slightly. "Wow, I'd like him to pet _me, _yes…"

"I must admit Maylene, he is quite the looker," Thyme whispered into Maylene's ear, nearly giving her a heart attack.

"M-Miss Thyme!" She stammered, face as red as her hair. "You startled me, yes you did!"

"However, I much prefer Finny over him." Thyme continued as if nothing had happened. She said it in a soft voice so that Bard and the object of her affections would not overhear her.

"So tell me May, girl to girl if you will, if you do not mind my asking: How is your love life going?"

"M-Miss Thyme t-that's-" Maylene spluttered, mortified.

"If you are uncomfortable with my inquiry, I shall drop the subject. However, if you are planning on eloping, I shall be happy to keep your secret, and fully support your decision; I'll even be Maiden of Honor at your wedding if you like. If there is anyone in particular you have your eye on at the moment," Thyme looked at Bard as she stated all of this sincerely in an undertone." And you are having trouble getting their attention; please do not hesitate to ask me for advice."

Maylene seemed to catch on to what Thyme was suggesting. "Mi-Miss- Thyme, there is n-nothing – nothing-…um… er… going on between Bard and I-I." Maylene finally finished.

Thyme gaped at her. "There's nothing going on between you and Tana then, is there?"

"No!" Maylene assured her.

"Good, because he's way too old for you." Thyme then thought of something. "You don't fancy Finny, do you?"

"No." Maylene did not even stutter this time.

"Good, because I have dibs." Thyme answered decisively, leaving Maylene to ponder what "dibs" were.

Meanwhile in the carriage in front, Sebastian was recalling the dog and its master's behavior. "He warps it with rewards and punishments, and forces obedience. A fine sight, but the dog is not blameless. It fawns on humans and welcomes the chain around its neck. Really, it is quite hard to understand."

"If you have something to say, then say it," Ciel commanded.

"Thank you, my lord. I love cats, but I'm not fond of dogs. Or rather… To be frank, _I hate them_."Sebastian said this last part with a smile, a hint of amusement laced into his voice.

There was silence for a moment, then-"Woof." Ciel barked.

Rosalind, Batty, and Thyme, all laughed heartily at this. Once they finished, Thyme commented, "A thought has occurred to me recently." She leaned over as close as possible to where her sisters were seated and spoke quietly."If we were the Powerpuff Girls, Batty would be Bubbles, being as not only does she have blonde hair and blue eyes, her personality fits Bubbles quite well. So that leaves me and Rosalind. Neither of us has red hair and pink eyes, despite my wishing I were a ginger, and neither of us has black hair and green eyes, so we will have to base this on personality."

"Buttercup is the aggressive one, correct?" Rosalind clarified as Thyme and Batty nodded. "Well, even if Buttercup had brown hair and brown eyes, that would not automatically mean I am most like her. It's what's on the inside that counts; always remember that. Hmm, I think that my personality is not quite aggressive enough for me to be Buttercup, and since you have super strength Thyme, I think that if in some bizarre reality we were transformed into the Powerpuff Girls based solely on our personalities, Batty would be Bubbles, Thyme would be Buttercup, and I would be Blossom. "

"I have an idea!" Thyme declared, clapping her hands together. "Let's address each other by our Powerpuff Girl nicknames from now on!"

"Let's not," Rosalind suggested.

"Sure we won't Blossom," The strawberry blonde winked at Rosalind, who sighed. The carriages stopped in front of an ancient looking house with wrought iron gates as well as a grand brick structure. A woman stepped in front of the house to greet them. She wore a violet dress with a lacy white pinafore apron; one could tell from her attire that she must be the maid of this place. She had relatively short and slightly poofy looking sky colored hair and eyes that matched the color of her dress.

As Rosalind looked at this woman, she felt a strange wave of emotions wash over her. It was one of happiness, grief, anger, and perhaps a little…fear? The feeling was indescribably intense; words could not do it justice. If Rosalind were to attempt to describe it however, she would describe it as being similar to the emotion one feels when looking at old photographs of oneself as a very young child and only being able to very vaguely recall what was occurring in the photo, due to one being so young at the time that one reminiscing now would have very much difficulty in doing so.

Rosalind could not recall ever experiencing a series of such strong emotions like this, yet somehow managing to feel unbelievably numb at the same time. It truly was a bizarre sensation. As if every emotions she had ever felt was exploding in side of her all at once; like the world had stopped turning and she was moving too fast. She was feeling so many things all at once, yet somehow she made no facial expressions or any other forms of body language indicating she was experiencing any other emotions than what she had been feeling just moments ago.

"The Earl Phantomhive, I presume?" Rosalind was jerked out of her trance by the maid's voice.

"Yes." Sebastian was now saying to the maid.

"Welcome to Barrymore Castle. My master awaits your arrival." The maid informed them all, bowing deeply.

The Phantomhive servants sans Sebastian all gaped at Angela; after all, it was not every day that one came across a person with light blue hair.

"She's beautiful, yes she is," Maylene observed. Finny's eyes were wide and sparkling, his cheeks flushed, hands clasped together under his chin. Thyme could not help but narrow her blue eyes at the maid. There seemed something… off about her. Now, Rosalind had implanted it into Thyme's head never to judge a person based solely off of what they look like; Thyme was not suspicious of Angela simply for looking a little different than most people, but for reasons she could not quite understand, the smile on Angela's face right now seemed a little… fake. As if she were hiding something.

Thyme was not the only one evidently thinking this; Sebastian was eyeing Angela analytically out of the corner of his eyes as well.

As the occupants of the carriages stepped out, Rosalind asked Angela curiously," Excuse me, but do we know each other? You seem to be very familiar for some reason. What is your name?"

"Angela Blanc," The maid replied friendlily. "I do not believe that we have met prior to now."

"Oh. All right then." And with that being said, Angela escorted the Rosemary's, Ciel, and Sebastian inside while the rest of the servants took care of the luggage.

**A/N:Please review! :D **


	21. Someone's in the Basement with Batty

**Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, added to favorite or story alerts!*Hands out early Halloween celebration.* Speaking of Halloween, I wanted this chapter to be especially creepy and scary, and since I am currently writing the Houndsworth Arc, I figured this wouldn't be a problem. However, I did include a couple of surprises just in case…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Black Butler / Kuroshitsuji****. **

Chapter 21: Someone's in the Basement with Batty...

If the town outside the mansion was creepy, the inside of the mansion was equally as disturbing. Angela led Ciel, Sebastian, and the Rosemary sisters inside the mansion. She led them down to long, narrow, winding hallways that were eerily quiet, and had a draft blowing. Their footsteps sounded a good deal louder than usual, and Batty found her already excruciatingly firm grip against Rosalind's hand tighten as they walked down the halls, thinking to herself this would be the perfect setting for a vampire or a werewolf or some other horrid monster to attack them. Surely no one nearby would hear their screams, being as they were located on the outskirts of town, relatively far away from the village.

Finally they reached the room, and Batty froze in horror upon entering it: The room had an assortment of animal heads hanging from the walls.

"Why don't you go back outside and keep Bard, Maylene, Finny, and Mr. Tanaka company?" Rosalind suggested, she herself feeling slightly sickened at the sight of the animal heads lining the walls but refusing to show any signs of disgust so as not to worry Batty further. Batty nodded in agreement to this suggestion and dashed out of the room.

Suddenly, a shrill feminine scream sliced through the air that pierced like a knife: All four of the guests in the room looked around to find Angela cowering on her knees as a man whipped her. The man as relatively large though not anywhere near as tall as Sebastian, possessed black hair and sideburns, and had brown eyes. His brown eyes were not like Sebastian's though, which were enchanting, or Rosalind's eyes, which although were not particularly striking in the sense of standing out or being very noticeable, still possessed a wonderful aura of warmth. No, this man's eyes were cold and reminded one of endless tunnels.

"Who the Hell is this Chihuahua? I told you to receive the Queen's messenger!"The man roared furiously as he aggressively whipped the poor maid, who was sobbing at this point.

"_Chihuahua_?" Ciel deadpanned. "Sebastian-"He was about to order Sebastian to cease the man from beating Angela, but Rosalind and Thyme got there first. Thyme wrapped her arms around the man's hands in a grip so tight he could not move them as Rosalind yanked the whip out of his hand… and promptly tossed it out the window.

"What in hell do you two think you are doing you little-" The man was not able to complete that sentence being as Thyme had shifted her grip on the man from his hands to around his neck and she was grabbing him so tightly he had started to choke. Thyme remembered how she sometimes had difficulty managing her super strength and hastily relinquished her grip on the man, for although it may seem quite satisfactory at the time for her to break this man's neck, she suspected it may turn out to be a less than wise idea later on, and may involve a lot of paper work and law suits.

"How dare you!"Rosalind yelled at him. "Hitting a maid for doing no wrong! You will stop this abhorrent behavior immediately!"

"You know naught Woman "The man had regained his breath and evidently his temper."She has committed a great wrong against me, insulting my intelligence! I ask for her to send me the Queen's messenger and his colleagues, and she brings me this Chihuahua of a boy, and _women_!"

"While I am certain that it would indeed be a great sin for one to insult a mind such as yours, "Rosalind's voice dripped with sarcasm." We are the people you requested to see, believe it or not."

The man spluttered. He suspected this woman _might _have just implied that he was an idiot, although he could not be certain. Regardless, there was positively no way this group could be the ones who worked for Her Majesty, surely not.

"It sounds as though you got my letter," Ciel broke the silence, taking a seat as the two sisters did the same while Sebastian remained standing behind him, unable to refrain from smirking at the man's quite comical expression of bewilderment. "I am Ciel Phantomhive."

"So you mean to tell me a little toy poodle like you is Her Majesty's messenger?"The man snarled, taking a seat behind the desk.

"You disapprove of small breeds, _Lord Henry_?" Ciel smiled mockingly. "Am I to be correct in assuming that that is your name, Lord Henry Barrymore?"

"You are" he replied, still glowering."However there is no way possible that a Chihuahua such as yourself and these _women_ can possibly assist me in anyway shape or form."

"On the contrary, I have a letter from the Queen herself confirming we are who we claim to be."Ciel pulled said letter out of his pocket and handed it to Lord Barrymore who read it thrice, needing to confirm it actually said what he thought it said and looked at them all grudgingly once he finally looked up.

"Fine, so you are who you claim to be, let's get down to business then."

**R~R~R~**

Ciel and Lord Barrymore talked business as Angela attempted to pour them some tea. Her hands-which were covered in bruises-, were shaking as she picked up the tea pot. Sebastian, sensing that perhaps she would be so shaken that she would accidentally spill the tea and ignite Lord Barrymore's rage again, offered to do it for her.

"Please miss, allow me."He whispered gently taking the pots and tea cups away from her and proceeded to carry out the task himself.

"It's not worth discussing," Lord Henry was saying now, hands crossed over his chest stubbornly."No matter what the terms, I can't sell this place."

"Let me hear your reason," Ciel pressed.

"The curse, "Lord Henry stated gravely.

"_Curse_?" Rosalind, Thyme, and Ciel chorused in skeptical unison.

"This village has lived alongside its dogs since ancient times. Those who interfere with it are cursed by a fearsome scourge…" He informed them, standing up and proceeding to slam his hands on the desk top. "Even the Queen cannot change that! Great calamity befalls anyone who goes against the Barrymore family!"

"Oh, _interestingly put_," Ciel drawled, closing his eyes.

"_What_?"Lord Henry sneered.

"Let's have a nice, close look at this 'calamity' then, shall we?"Ciel folded his hands under his chin.

**R~R~R~**

Meanwhile, Batty had run outside like Rosalind had suggested she do. She was happy to leave the house and was at the moment trying not to think about how long she would have to stay there. Hmm, maybe if she asked Rosalind really politely they might be able to leave. Batty didn't like the feeling of not sleeping in her own bed, but at least when they had went to Ciel's townhouse that summer it had looked pleasant enough, unlike this house. This house gave her an eerie feeling.

"Oh look, it's Miss Batty!"Maylene exclaimed once Batty arrived.

"Can I,um, help you with anything?"Batty offered shyly, staring at her feet.

Bard looked at the luggage they needed to carry. He didn't think there was anything light enough for the child to carry. "We're fine kiddo, but you can watch if you want. Why did you run out of the house?"

"It's scary."Batty answered quietly."There were these animal heads in one of the rooms, and the hallways look like the perfect place for a ghost to be hiding, and I _really_ want to go home.  
>When will we go home?"<p>

"I dunno," Bard replied."But we'll go home sooner or later."Then turning to Finny, who wasn't paying any attention to the situation at hand and appeared to be off daydreaming ,"OY! These bags aren't going to carry themselves you know!" Finny snapped out of his trance and helped carry the luggage indoors with the rest of the servants. Batty was left outside temporarily. She was alone outside a creepy house on a rather cloudy day with the kind of weather perfect for telling scary stories, but if she went indoors she's be inside said frightening house. She pondered what her options were for a moment, and ran inside.

Unbeknownst to her, a figure in the forest surrounding the house watched her run in.

**R~R~R~**

Batty followed the servants around everywhere as they went about putting away the suitcases. She tried to focus on them, and not her current surroundings. Tried, however, was the key word in that sentence.

"It's like a scary story, "Batty murmured to herself as Maylene started unpacking her own suitcase.

"I beg your pardon?" Maylene took a couple of dresses out of her suitcase as she spoke, overhearing Batty's comment.

"This house," Batty clarified."It reminds me of places where scary stories take place."

"Ooh, I love scary stories, yes I do!"Maylene clapped suddenly and enthusiastically, throwing Batty off guard.

"You like spooky stories, Miss Maylene?"Batty had never pegged her for being that type of person, due to how easily Maylene got anxious or frightened.

"Oh, yes, I love how they send shivers down my spine and give me goose bumps! Those are my favorite types of stories! Oh, and you don't need to call me Miss, Miss Batty. Maylene's just fine! It's what I prefer to be called anyway. Oh, do you want me to to tell you a scary story?"

"No," Batty whispered in a voice so quiet Maylene could not hear her this time.

Maylene, taking to her what sounded like Batty's silence, as a yes, she began," Once, in an old mansion, there lived-"

Batty ran out of the room, too scared to hear any more after those first few words. She retreated out into the hallway, and ran until she was certain she was out of earshot of Maylene's story. She ran down a flight of stairs that lead to a basement. She was alone now, and looked around. The hallway was very dark for this time of day-it would soon be sunset- and had a silence that would be disrupted drastically if someone so much as sighed. Batty took a moment to catch her breath, when she heard it; the sound of somebody else breathing.

Batty whirled her head around, searching for the location of the noise. Then she heard a loud, creaking noise that pierced the dreadful silence, although this new loudness was even worse. Now she heard footsteps approaching right behind her. She stood petrified, too scared to turn around.

"Miss Batty-"

"AAAHHH!"Batty screamed at the sudden voice. "P—Please don't h-hurt me!"

"Miss Batty, it's just me, Maylene."Maylene told her. Batty turned around slowly and realized that this was true, and that that creaking noise must have been Maylene opening the door. "I'm sorry I frightened you dear, I didn't know you would be this upset if I told you a scary story! Oh my, I am so dreadfully sorry!"And with that being said Maylene exerted a series of strenuous sincere apologies.

"It's okay," Batty assured her once both of them had calmed down slightly.

"I'll take you upstairs now, yes I will!"Maylene declared, taking her by the hand and leading her up the stairs. It did not occur to Batty until later that the sound of somebody else breathing had she had before Maylene opened the door to the cellar, and that someone other than Maylene must have been in the room with her.

**R~R~R~**

"Wow, so you're the only maid at this estate?" Bard- who had just spoken- Maylene, Finny, Tanaka, Thyme, Angela, and Batty were all seated at a table in the kitchen. It had been a few hours now since the time they had arrived at the estate and they were all eating dinner. The servants never dined with Ciel, so they were eating in the kitchen. Thyme had opted out of eating with Ciel, preferring to be with Finny. Ciel would have been dining by himself had Rosalind not offered to join him out of politeness. Batty had been originally been eating with them but had decided to go join the others after finishing early. Lord Barrymore was not in either room, much to everyone's relief. They were now conversing with Angela, who was the only servant in the entire estate.

"That's amazing! That's really impressive, Angela, yes it is!" Maylene admired.

"Nonsense. I'm utterly unsatisfactory…" Angela lowered her head bashfully.

"I doubt that," Said Thyme. "You must be good, or else you would probably have been fired or Lord Barrymore- or GOAT, as I like to call him- would have hired more people to help."

Angela blinked. "Goat?" She repeated.

Thyme nodded."Git Of All Time. Wait a moment, maybe I should come up with a better nickname; the current name be offensive to goat kind, and when I say goat I mean the adorable animal, not the git."

There was some chucking at this; even Angela cracked a smile. However, Batty was confused. "What's a git?"She asked.

"A git," Thyme said in her best Rosalind imitation, which admittedly was rather impressive."Is a thoroughly dislikeable person, often times very foolish. There is another synonym for this word that I may not say in the presence of a five year old. "

"What's the word?"Batty inquired.

"What word?"Thyme pretended she was oblivious as to what Batty was talking about.

"The syno- synan- cinnamon?" Batty stumbled over the unfamiliar word.

"Aww, you're so cute!"Thyme squealed, giving a perplexed Batty a hug, giggling over her innocent mistake. Everyone around the table grinned.

"The correct pronunciation of that word is synonym Batty, not cinnamon,"  
>Angela informed her, smiling gently. "A synonym is-"<p>

"I've got this," Thyme interrupted. " A synonym means two words that have similar meanings."

"Okay, "Batty understood this definition. The other occupants at the table sans Thyme were stunned.

"You actually understood that definition?"Bard turned to Batty, stunned.  
>"Yes, "Batty confirmed.<p>

"I wouldn't have been able to understand half that explanation when I was your age," Bard reflected. "So how-"

"Rosalind, "Thyme interjected."She has a very advanced vocabulary and is currently teaching Batty how to read."

"Anyway Angela, Let us know if there's anythin' we can help you with," Bard added. "We servants gotta stick together. Right, Finny?"

"Yes! Of course!"Finny agreed.

"You're all so kind," Angela murmured, smiling at them appreciatively. A small golden bell on the wall then rang above one of the small nameplates- this one reading bedroom- resulting in  
>Angela standing up and bowing slightly."Please excuse me. My master is calling." She evacuated the room. Finny stared at her, cheeks pink and eyes shining.<p>

Meanwhile Thyme's blue eyes were narrowed in distaste. Finny had been ignoring her ever since they had arrived, so fixated on Angela was he, and it made Thyme's heart burn with jealousy. That was why she was being curt with Angela earlier. Although Thyme felt immense pity for Angela due to her abhorrent master, she still could no t help but feel that there was something suspicious about Angela, but she was certain that it was merely her jealousy talking.  
>Thyme knew it was not Angela's fault that Finny had been enthralled by her, but it did nothing to soothe her envy. So Thyme had tried to make herself seem as witty, sophisticated and all around interesting and entertaining as possible during dinner, but it did not appear to be working. She would not give up though.<p>

"Finny, would you care to join Batty and I on an excursion within the basement?"Thyme attempted to make her voice sound like Angela's: Deep, charming, and smooth as velvet.

Before Finny could answer, Batty gasped."Thyme, I already told you about what happened today. I really don't want to go back there!"

"Very well Batty, if you do not feel prepared to go down there, you may retire for bed, I suspect it is your bedtime at home right about now anyways. Meanwhile, the elder and more mature adults may proceed on down to the basement. Care to join me, Finny?"Thyme was not legally an adult yet, but she wanted to demonstrate to Finny that she could be mature. (Whether or not she was actually more mature than her five year old sister is debatable.)

Batty glared at her, and stalked off. She did not like being spoken to as if she were an idiot.

"Will you accompany me, Finny?"Thyme unintentionally rhymed.

"Hm? No thanks Thyme, I think I'll just go to bed."Finny dismissed her, thoughts still on Angela. Thyme scowled, and stormed off, leaving Finny puzzled about her reaction.

**R~R~R~**

Meanwhile, Maylene decided to take a walk upstairs when she heard noises coming through one of the bedrooms. The door was open a crack and she peered through it, curios as to what was going on. She could make out Lord Henry and Angela from inside.

"Angela… Angela… The Queen wants my village!" Lord Henry moaned. He was on his knees in front of Angela, who was seated in a chair. He had rolled up her skirts, exposing her bare calves, which he was currently rubbing with his hands. "You understand, don't you? I'll protect the village!"

Angela stared on, emotionless.

"Angela, my angel… _my angel_." Lord Henry moaned as his hands traveled up and down her lower legs.

Maylene jumped backwards in shock, clutching her nose, which was bleeding as it often did when she witnessed something that could be classified as even mildly erotic.

"I shouldn't have seen! Oh, I shouldn't have seen!" She groaned running away.

**R~R~R~**

The Rosemary females had already finished unpacking earlier that day. Rosalind was at the moment sitting in a chair in the bedroom she had selected for herself, reading a book when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

Thyme entered the room. "Rosalind, can I talk you to you for a moment?"

Rosalind put her book down. "Of course."

"Finny has been ignoring me ever since we've arrived, and only pays attention to Angela."Thyme sat down on the bed."Is there anything I can do that will get him to pay attention to me, his loyal best friend, again?"

"Thyme, we have not been here for a day, I am sure he will pay more attention to you tomorrow. However, if he continues to act this why, I recommend talking to him when you get the chance and tell him how you feel." Rosalind advised her. " I am sure the only reason he is paying attention to Angela is because she is an attractive older woman. But if what you have told me about Finny is correct, he is a good friend and will soon treat you just as well as usual."

"Are you saying I'm not attractive?"Thyme demanded.

"Not at all, "Rosalind was slightly miffed by her response."Beauty is subjective and I am sure that I am not the only one who thinks you are equally attractive as Angela. However Thyme, it is vital to remember that a person's true beauty lies on the inside."

"I just thought of something, "Thyme mused."How old is Finny exactly?"

Rosalind stared at her."You mean you don't know?"

"No, "Thyme replied."Do you have any idea?"

"Well, I assume he's your age, certainly no more than a year or two older, if he is at all older than you are. At least, I hope not: If Finny is actually more than a few years older than you, there will be complications and awkwardness on my part in witnessing your wedding in five or ten years from now." Rosalind pondered.

"Rosy, you mean to tell me you've set a date and everything?"Thyme joked.

"Of course I have not Thyme; you know I would never plan out your entire life for you. Actually, I do not care what you do or who you marry as long as you are happy in doing so… although it would certainly bring me great comfort in knowing that there is not a substantial age difference between you two. "Rosalind stated both sincerely and lightheartedly.

"I feel better now, thanks Rosy."Thyme stood up and made way to the door.

"You're welcome, Thyme." Rosalind was about to return to her book when Thyme remembered something.

"Rosalind, this may just be my feeling envious of Angela earlier, but do you get the feeling that there is something a little… Oh, I don't know… unnatural about that maid, possibly even a bit suspicious?"

Rosalind looked thoughtful."You know, when I first saw Angela, she seemed vaguely familiar to me, but I cannot recall why. I do not think I would call her suspicious, but she does seem to possess an other- worldly sort of air about her."

"It's probably nothing, "Thyme decided.

"Perhaps, "Rosalind stated dubiously. "Well, either way, good night Thyme."

"Good night." Thyme left the room for real this time and Rosalind returned to her book. Once Thyme was in the hallway, she remembered her suggesting exploring the basement earlier. Batty had told her about her little excursion that day and the strawberry blonde haired teenager was rather curious as to what was in the basement. She made her way down to the basement, opened the door, and went inside.

**R~R~R~**

Sebastian and Ciel were now in Ciel's bedroom as Sebastian laid Ciel's night clothes out on the bed, ready to prepare his young master for bed, but before he could do so there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."Ciel called. Angela opened the door and entered the room shiftily.

"I apologize for the lateness of the hour."

"My young master is about to retire, "Sebastian said to Angela in a tone of voice indicating whatever her reason for coming here be of the utmost importance.

"I have a request. Please leave this village. You mustn't be here."Angela begged voice shaky.

"Why not?"Ciel suspected that what she had to say was not different in the slightest form what Lord Henry had been harping on about earlier.

"I can't-" Angela was interrupted by Rosalind walking into the room.

"Excuse me, but has anyone seen Thyme-"

Just then a loud howl sounded from outside as though its owner was in a dreadful state of pain.

Angela cowered in fear. "N-no. It's the D-Demon Hound!"

"Demon Hound?"Ciel echoed interestedly.

Angela shrieked as Rosalind let out a slight gasp as the shadow of a large dog suddenly appeared behind the window curtains.

"Sebastian! What is that?"Ciel demanded. Sebastian threw back the curtains to find the window empty.

"What on Earth was that?"Rosalind wondered.

"Look, "Sebastian pointed to a glowing sprinting blob in the distance headed towards the village. Suddenly, another scream echoed throughout the house, its owner clearly terrified. It was positively bloodcurdling, and the occupants of the room felt their blood turn cold as ice as it could only belong to one person:

"Thyme."Rosalind breathed, and ran out of the room.

**A/N:Cliffhanger! What do you think has happened to Thyme? In this ThymexFinnyxAngela love triangle, who are you rooting for? Who do you think was watching Batty earlier? What do you think is in the basement? Why do you think Angela seems familiar to Rosalind? By the way, does anyone know how old Finny actually is? I imagine him being around Thyme's age, maybe a little older, but not by much. **

**Please review, and have a happy Halloween!:D **


	22. Near Death Experiences

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, added to favorites or story alerts! *Hands out Halloween left overs and early Thanksgiving food.* **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for my OCs.**

Chapter 22:Near Death Experiences

Rosalind ran throughout the house, having heard Thyme's terror inducing scream. "Thyme!"She called, everywhere she ran and looked. She heard Thyme's horrifically horrified scream once more, and this time it sounded like it was coming from the basement. She bolted down the flight of stairs in such a fashion that it truly was a miracle that she did not trip over the steps, dashed to where the cellar door was located and attempted to wrench it open before realizing it was locked. Rosalind searched frantically for any means of unlocking the door, but alas there was none; it must be locked from the inside.

"THYME!"Rosalind banged on the door. "It's me Rosalind. It's okay, I am here now, but I can't open this door. Are you okay? Can you open it from the inside?"

"I can't!"Thyme replied fear evident in her tone of voice. "It's too dark! I can barely see anything!"

Rosalind paused for a moment, thinking about what to do, when Thyme spoke again, possibly sounding more serious than Rosalind had ever heard her in her life.

"Rosalind, step back from the door. _Far_ back, do you understand?"

Rosalind obeyed, stepping away from the door by eight feet. "All right, but why-"

"There's no time to explain. Are you well away from the door?"Thyme interrupted, her voice austerely calm.

"Yes."Rosalind did not press for further details for once.

"Good." A moment later, Rosalind's face went white as chunks of wood flew every which way and the remains of the door lay in a demolished heap on the ground: Thyme had just kicked the door down, using her enhanced strength. She was as white as chalk, and had broken into a cold sweat, but she was alive and standing on two feet, with no apparent injuries.

Rosalind was too shocked to even register the fact that Thyme had just broke the door down; all she cared about was that her sister was alive.

Right at that moment Ciel, Sebastian, and Finny all rushed into the hall. Neither of the two siblings noticed the additional parties in the entrance hall now as they rushed to embrace one another.

"You're all right," Rosalind breathed in relief, examining her sister for any signs of injuries; there were none. "Oh thank Heavens. Holy Mother Mary, what on earth happened Thyme? What were you doing in the cellar? Why were you down there? What made you frightened so?"

"I-I decided to go down there for a late night expedition before I retired for the evening, "Thyme trembled. "I was not aware of the door locking behind me when I made my way down; I was certain that I had left it half open, but I suppose the wind must have blown it shut, or at least, I certainly hope it was the wind…

Anyway, as I was exploring I saw-"Thyme's took a deep shuddering breath, before continuing."I saw your dead body Rosalind."

And with that being said Thyme burst into tears, hyperventilating as uncontrollable sobs wracked her body.

"You claim to have seen her corpse?"Ciel repeated, unable to believe he had heard her correctly. Thyme's crying harder than ever at this constituted as a yes. Rosalind held her close, murmuring words of comfort into her ear in an attempt to calm her down. As water spilled from her eyes, every tear drop a waterfall of terror and grief, Thyme noticed one of the room's other occupants: Finny. Before she could even call his name, he sprinted over towards her and embraced her more tightly than Rosalind could, due to his enhanced strength.

"Thank God you are all right Thyme!"He too burst into tears as he held her.

As he offered words of comfort, as well, he turned to Rosalind and suggested, "I think that it is best if Thyme goes back to bed. I'll stay up with her if she wants me to."

Right at that moment Angela, Batty, and the remaining Phantomhive servants jogged over to the scene.

"Oh my Goodness Gracious it is awful!"Maylene exclaimed. "You would not believe what just happened-why is Miss Thyme so upset?"

"We are still currently figuring out the details, Maylene. Why don't you tell us what happened?"Rosalind solicited whilst patting Thyme's back gently.

"We woke up to the sound of screaming; we did, and ran outside to see what was goin' on. The Demon Hound attacked a villager, that good looking young lad we passed by on our way 'ere. "Maylene gulped."It was awful, he died and the villagers all started singing this eerie sort of lullaby. No one seemed to be upset that he died; do you know what Lord Barrymore said about all of this?"

"It was inevitable," Everyone in the entrance hall jumped; Lord Barrymore had just arrived and spoke."He had one dog too many; he was a bad dog. The village has laws that must be upheld and anyone who breaks them will be punished by the Demon Hound. James knew that but he kept six dogs instead of five; he deserved what he got."

"So you are saying, "Rosalind clarified. "A villager has just died simply because he had an extra dog more than he was supposed to? And that this "Demon Hound" of which you speak just murdered him? And this is totally justifiable?"

"Yes." Lord Barrymore answered. Before Rosalind could voice her objections on this matter, Barrymore noticed the broken door. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL HAPPENED TO MY BLOODY DOOR?"Everyone except for Ciel and Sebastian flinched. Batty hid behind Maylene.

"Your door, Lord Barrymore," Sebastian was the first to speak and it was in a serene and calm sort of voice that was quite the antithesis of the current atmosphere. He smiled at Lord Henry-who was fuming- pleasantly."Miss Thyme was inadvertently locked in the cellar and unfortunately it was necessary for me to damage your door in order to free her."

Barrymore swore. Thankfully, Rosalind had predicted this so she was able to shield young Batty's ears from his foul language in time.

"Then you could have let her there to rot for all I care!"He snapped, looking quite deranged looking. "You are going to pay for this mess, young man!"

Before he could carry on, and no doubt say something quite vulgar, Ciel intervened."I promise you Lord Henry that I will pay for the damage done to your door."

"That you will, that you will, "Barrymore gritted his teeth."But you will still leave this house at once! You are all mad I am certain, all of you! I will not house mad people!"

"Be that as it may, Lord Henry"Ciel smirked at the raging lord."You are under strict orders from Her Majesty to keep us here until we feel we may leave. I need not mention I am sure, the punishment of disobeying Her Majesty."

Barrymore fumed, but said nothing and stalked off into the distance. Nearly everyone in the room let out a breath they had not realized they had been holding.

Thyme was still crying however. Rosalind and Finny continued to comfort her when a loud clap of thunder resounded from outside. Batty let out a squeak and curled up on the floor in the fetus position.

"Batty, there is nothing to fear, it is only the weather outside," Rosalind reminded her. This did nothing to calm Batty though, especially when lightning flashed outside, clearly visible through the hall windows.

"Oh dear, it looks like you both are quite traumatized tonight," Rosalind sighed. Turning to the rest of the group, Rosalind explained."Batty is mortally afraid of thunderstorms."

"How about I tuck Miss Batty into bed?"Sebastian suggested, seeing that it would be very difficult at the moment for Rosalind to comfort both of her sisters.

"Oh thank you."Rosalind agreed gratuitously, before returning to trying to calm down Thyme.

**R~R~R~**

Sebastian reached Batty's door, opened it, and lead her inside. Upon finding her bed in the darkness, Batty crawled in instantly. She saw lightning flash from outside her window and curled up under the sheets, clearly even in the dark frightened of the raging storm outside.

"Miss Batty, the weather cannot harm you."Sebastian said in an attempt to calm the little girl down.

"Not true, "Batty responded from beneath the covers. "Lightning kills people every year."

"Yes, it does, but very rarely, "Sebastian acknowledged. "It is highly unlikely that it would even hit this house, Miss Batty. Please do not worry about this. Simply focus on getting some sleep tonight."

Thunder clapped once more from outside and Batty gasped.

"The thunder cannot hurt you," Sebastian stated as gently as he could, which due to all of the times he had had to put on airs in front of humans, sounded very convincing.

"I know," Batty admitted. "But I can still hear it and it scares me; I hear it but I never know if the storm is right next to me or if it is kilometers away."

"I seem to recall," Sebastian mused. "A game where one can tell how close a storm is to them*. The next time you see the lightning flash, Miss Batty, count how long it takes before you hear thunder. This number is the number of kilometers away the storm is from you. Say for instance, after you saw the lighting flash you counted to three before the thunder arrived, that would indicate that the storm is approximately three kilometers away from you If you are incapable of ignoring the present weather conditions, you may as well attempt to make a game of it so that it may not bother you quite as much ."

"Okay," Batty looked up at him as if he were telling her the secrets of the universe."That sounds like fun, I'll try that. Thank you Mr. Sebastian."

"You are welcome Miss Batty. Good night." He tucked her in and was about to leave when he heard a knock on the door. Turning, he watched Rosalind walk into the room.

"I just came in to say good night to Batty. Thank you for escorting her to her bedroom though, Sebastian," She walked over to the bedside. "Good night Batty. How are you feeling?"

"I am starting to feel better, "Batty replied."Rosalind, guess what?"

"What is it Batty?"Rosalind solicited.

"Mr. Sebastian taught me a way to know how close the storm is!"Batty informed her."If you count after you see lightning until you hear thunder, the number you counted is how far away the storm is from you. Isn't that clever?"

"Very clever, "Rosalind looked at Sebastian as she said this, grateful for him having palliated her sister's fear somewhat.

"I love you Rosalind, "Batty yawned sleepily.

"I love you too Batty. Sleep well."

"You… too…"Batty's voice sounded distant; clearly sleep was upon her. Rosalind and Sebastian slowly and quietly evacuated the bedroom, Sebastian gently shutting the door behind him.

"That truly was very kind of you to do that."Rosalind remarked once they were in the hall.

"I am not a kind man, Miss Rosemary; in fact, I am no man at all. I am a _demon_, remember? I am hell born, and anything that you may deem as kindness is done solely for my young master's sake. Due to Miss Thyme's current state of mind, I deemed it necessary to palliate Miss Batty's phobia in order to create less trouble for my young master. Nothing more, nothing less."Sebastian stated dryly.

"Your reasoning does not change the fact that it was a kind action," Rosalind argued. "And anyway, I find that explanation hard to swallow. How would my sisters being upset impact Ciel in any way? And _please_, do not call me Miss Rosemary!"

"The young master needs his rest," Sebastian stated in a matter of fact sort of tone." Your sisters being upset may keep him up at late hours as a result of their being vocal about it."

Rosalind opened her mouth, no doubt to argue further, but Sebastian had more pressing matters to discuss.

"Miss Rosemary, Miss Thyme claimed she saw your corpse earlier. Have you discovered anything about this claim?"

"Right now she's too distraught to get a coherent answer from her," Rosalind accounted." Moreover, Finny is currently in her room with her trying to calm her while I went to say goodnight to Batty; I do not know how much he knows about our involvement with The Agency, and I do not want to say anything that may endanger him should he hear it.

Also, regardless of whether or not Thyme actually saw my corpse, she seems to believe so and seeing me alive is a bit too much of a shock for her at the moment. Although, I will return to her shortly to check up on her and once she is calm enough interrogate her on the matter."

"So you honestly think it a possibility then?"Sebastian raised an eyebrow."You honestly believe that your sister may have witnessed your dead body despite you currently being alive?"

"I hope she is mistaken and that it was only a trick of the light," Rosalind whispered gravely."However I cannot dismiss the possibility. I know Thyme well enough now that, although unpredictable she is, I can more often than not tell when she is mistaken. She did not seem to be mistaken tonight. The mind works in strange ways, but I find it quite unlikely she could only have imagined something so vivid.

It is true that Thyme has an active imagination, yet I do not think this level of terror is merely imaginable. In the past she has had flashbacks to when she was in the lab and would become quite hysterical when reliving the experience. However, that sort of reaction is only when she remembers something, not when she has imagined something that has never happened.

It is possible that there is an anachronism or something else occurring in the time stream. It is possible that one day in the future I will die and my body has somehow been transported to this time period."

"Perhaps we should go down to the cellar right now and investigate," Sebastian recommended.

"I would do so under ordinary circumstances, but I think it best at the moment if I stay with Thyme. Do you think you would be able to go investigate now?"Rosalind responded, and Sebastian could not help but notice that she was looking rather pale as she spoke.

"I will do so as soon as the young master is in bed," Sebastian decided."Miss Rosemary, why are you so pale?"

"There is a possibility of my dying young in the future Sebastian," Rosalind snapped. "Of course I am frightened of what we may find."

"I have never understood why humans are so afraid of death," Sebastian commented. "And I see no reason someone such as you should be either."

"And why would that be, Sebastian?" Rosalind queried curiously.

"Surely one that is as intelligent and reasonable as yourself would comprehend that it is pointless dreading or fearing death to begin with," Sebastian explained." Secondly, I see no reason why you of all people, who is good and kind at heart, would have anything to fear from the afterlife."

The intensity of his gaze made her blush."Thank you, Sebastian."

"There is no need for thanking," Sebastian brushed this off."I am merely stating facts that I am certain you already know; there is no point in feigning modesty, which is another trait amongst humans I have never understood."

Rosalind nodded, noticing her stomach was feeling rather fluttery."Good night Sebastian."

"Good night, Miss Rosemary."

**R~R~R~**

The next morning was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. The temperature had increased dramatically since the day before as well. However, last night's toil involving the Demon Hound, and Thyme's experience in the cellar had put somewhat of a damper on the Phantomhive servants' moods. Finny, Bard and Maylene were currently reflecting from this as they stood outside.

"What a horrible trip," Bard moaned, resting his head in his arms.

"Yes, Yes," Maylene agreed gloomily.

"What's the matter?"Sebastian appeared, joining the depressed servants. "You were all so enthusiastic on the drive here."

"The murder of that man is still on our minds, "Bard replied morosely.

"Have you forgotten? We came to a resort."Sebastian smiled cheerily. He held up a pack lunch and bathing suits. The Phantomhive servants grinned from ear to ear, took their things, and ran off.

"It's wonderful of you to try to brighten the atmosphere a bit." Said Rosalind, who had just left the house for a stroll, wandered over, and overheard the conversation. Her hair had become quite frizzy due to the heat and was worn in a messy bun.

"The young master can't go around having depressed servants who won't work to the best of their abilities," Sebastian reasoned.

"Hmmm," Rosalind, as usual, held obstinate to her resolve that Sebastian performed kind deeds for more than simply the reasons he gave."Yes, I am sure that is the only reason."

"I investigated the cellar last night, "Sebastian enlightened her before she could press on further, not wanting to have another pointless argument.

"And?" Rosalind dropped her earlier notions on Sebastian's true nature to listen to this, which at the moment was much more vital.

"I did not find any corpses within the cellar."He responded.

Rosalind pondered over this for a moment."I spoke to Thyme, and the way she described what she saw was so vivid and descriptive, I find it hard to believe it to be simply a hallucination, yet the mind can do that to people. Thyme refused to believe that it was all imaginary. As Thyme's older sister I know her well enough to tell the difference between her being stubborn about something she is wrong about and her being stubborn about something she is right about. This time it seemed to me that she was being stubborn because she was correct.

Even though you did not find my body it is also conceivable that someone could have moved the body. "Rosalind added as an afterthought. "I think I may go over there myself later today and see if I can find any evidence."

"How is Miss Thyme doing today?"Sebastian had not seen Thyme since the previous night, nor any of the Rosemary sisters for that matter apart from Rosalind; they had all slept in late and ate breakfast later than Ciel had.

"She is better," Rosalind looked more at ease as she spoke."As you saw she was a hysterical mess last night, but she is calmer this morning, though still, I am sure, a bit shaken. I saw her just minutes ago saying she was off to go find Finny, so I think if she stays with him, she will be fine. I must say, that boy has a very good effect on her mentality at times. I have observed that when she is upset, he is quite good at cheering her up and vice versa. Yesterday she had told me she was feeling jealous of him paying so much attention to Angela, so I hope that today he will pay more attention to her, especially considering what happened last night."

"I do not doubt that he will," Sebastian assured her tranquilly." I have observed the relationship between the two and judging by how fond they are of each other they appear to truly care about each other very much. Therefore I am certain that he will accompany her quite often today. Even I, a demon, can see the amount of care in their relationship."

"Sebastian, I do not recall if I have asked you this before, but can demons love?"Rosalind questioned suddenly.

Sebastian thought a moment before answering."Why do you ask, Miss Rosemary?"

"I was simply curious is all," Rosalind stated offhandedly."And for the umpteenth time-"

"I am not to call you Miss Rosemary."Sebastian finished. "I believe you have said this before. I cannot answer your question; I only have a vague idea of what "love" is. I have observed it is a feeling of deep affection for a person, place, or thing. A person's love can be in the form of a hobby, for instance. I myself have a great fondness for cats, so I suppose one may say I "love" them."

Rosalind shook her head."I suspect you do not quite understand what exactly I am asking you, Sebastian. "

"Then please enlighten me, Miss Rosemary." Sebastian wondered why any of this mattered.

"I do not think I could tell you in words Sebastian just what exactly love is. I will only have you know that I daresay it is by far stronger than wealth or power." And with that being said, Rosalind turned around and walked away.

Sebastian considered calling her back, but decided against it. _Why should I? _He scolded himself. _She is only a human; there is no need to think so much about meaningless questions she asks. Though perhaps there is something of importance behind that question? No, of course not, how could a matter as to whether or not you can love concern your young master in any way shape or form? Therefore it should not impact you in any matter whatsoever. _

_Yet it does, _another side of his brain countered. _Everything she says results in you thinking about her words. _

_Why? _Sebastian screamed inside his mind._ Why is it that this woman makes me so… _

But Sebastian did not know how he could complete that thought. Sighing, he went back inside the house, hoping for some dull task that would distract his mind from thoughts about a certain young woman named Rosalind Rosemary.

**R~R~R~**

Around mid-day, the guests of Lord Henry Barrymore were all outside at the lake near the estate. Thyme and the Phantomhive servants were all currently playing in the water. Rosalind's prediction had come true: Finny was paying a good deal more attention to Thyme today than he had yesterday. Batty had changed into a bathing dress, but chose to remain on land, building sand castles with Rosalind, who simply wore a plain short sleeved dress with a hem going just above the knee that was not meant for water.

"Will today be the day at long last you venture into the water Batty?"Rosalind's voice was hopeful as she posed this question.

"No, I don't think so," The firm tone of Batty's voice indicated that this wasn't the first time Rosalind had discussed this with her.

"Batty, you are five years old now; don't you think it is time you have learned how to swim? I would go in the water and teach you so you would not be in any danger. Why do you fear the water so?"Rosalind patted some sand on one of the sand castles as she spoke.

"Because I will drown if I try to learn to swim," Batty insisted stubbornly.

"You don't know that, "Rosalind sighed. "Batty, why don't you just try going into the water, I assure you it feels very good, particularly on a day such as this, and if you truly do not enjoy it by all means you may get out of the water."

"But Rosalind," Batty persisted. "If the water is so fine, why do you never go in it? You are not even wearing a bathing dress."

"I have my own reasons," Rosalind responded curtly. "Anyway, as you can see Thyme and the others are all currently enjoying the water very much. Are you positive you would not like to go in, just this once? I would go in with you, you know."

"I'm sure."Batty chirped as she started on a new sandcastle.

Rosalind decided at this point to take a break and reached into her bag to read a book.

Sebastian and Rosalind had not spoken since the incident that morning, but Sebastian thought it childish not to speak to her, so he queried," What book are you reading Miss Rosemary?"

Rosalind held up the cover and showed him. It read: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sebastian frowned."I am unfamiliar with that title. When was this novel published?"

"Well," Rosalind lowered her voice conspiratorially." It actually hasn't been published yet, you see, I checked it out from the library at The Agency before we left. I only started it today, but so far it really is quite good. By a bizarre coincidence, this book strongly resembles our current situation at the moment."

"Oh?"Sebastian raised an eyebrow."What is the book about exactly?"

"It's about…" Rosalind prattled on about the book for the next several minutes straight, talking a mile a minute, and had Sebastian not been a demon he suspected he would have to ask her to repeat herself a number of times, since Rosalind's level of fascination with the book appeared to be inhuman. Having just started the book, Rosalind was only able to talk so much about it, so she eventually finished speaking without everyone having left for dinner as a result of her talking so long. Had she read much more of the book, that truly would have been a possible scenario; Rosalind could and had talked for hours on end about books she had read. Meanwhile, Batty went further along the shore to build more sandcastles.

Once Rosalind finished talking, Sebastian posed a question for her."Miss Rosemary, why do you not go in the water?"

"I dislike it, "she answered.

"Why?"Sebastian wondered why she was being vague in her answering about the subject.

"I just do."A moment of silence followed this statement. Then:"Oh all right, if you insist on knowing, I will tell you a story. I learned how to swim as a young child and always enjoyed swimming in the summer; in fact, I used to love playing and swimming in the water.

Then one summer when I was around Ciel's age, my family decided I was too old to play in the water. I was kept inside the house while my siblings all splashed around in the water. I _hated_ it. So, one night when everyone was asleep, I snuck out to a nearby lake at the country house we were staying it that summer. I swam around in the water, but it was dark, and there was no moon that night visible in the sky. Nor were there any visible stars; it was a rather cloudy night, you see, and I know now I ought not to have been out at that hour, especially in those weather conditions, but I was so envious and could not resist the temptation of going into the lake.

Anyway, as I was swimming, I was not paying attention and wandered too far into the deeper parts of the lake. I slipped on something in the water and fell under. I swam around in an attempt to reach the surface, but the water was of course exceedingly dark in the night, and with the water in my eyes making everything appeared blurred and even darker than it already was, I could barely see a thing and I believe accidentally swam deeper.

I knew how to swim, but never had been an excellent swimmer. I realized with a jolt of fear that I was drowning. In a state of panic, I opened my mouth to call for help, but that only succeeded in getting water in my mouth, which I chocked on. I was so certain then and there I was going to die, when I felt a hand reach into the water and lift me up. Spluttering and gasping for breath, I was pulled onto land where I looked up and saw what I truly thought of at the time as… an angel. Of course, it was a human being. He was a young man who at the time I believed to be the most handsome man I had ever seen, with snow white hair and eyes that, if I were to say their precise shade, I would describe as being amethyst purple. I was transfixed by my savior, unable to speak at first. When I opened my mouth to thank him, I promptly retched all over my savior's shoes. Mortified, I let out a string of apologies but he simply laughed and told me not to worry and inquired about my welfare. I assured him I was fine, only in shock, and he offered to take me home.

Looking back on it now, it was probably foolish for me to follow him; for all I knew, he could actually be some horrid sort of criminal. But he was not, and true to his word, he escorted me back to my house when I told him where I was residing. I discovered he actually had been planning on going to where I was staying and he had run into me by chance; he had arrived earlier from his business trip than he had expected and wanted to surprise my family in the middle of the night. Had he not decided this and had instead waited until morning, I would surely be dead. He had saved my life, and for that I was awestruck by him.

After that, I developed a phobia of large bodies of water, due to my almost dying in one. That phobia has never quite gone away. I know how to swim, but I am not particularly fond of the water anymore as a result of this experience."

Rosalind finished and stood up, a sudden idea striking her. "If you'll excuse me." She left. Sebastian pondered over Rosalind's story for a moment. It was shocking for him to hear about Rosalind, who always seemed to be so independent and self-reliant, actually be vulnerable for once. But then again, he mused, she was only human and, like all humans, she had her moments of vulnerability, despite being an emotionally strong person.

Sebastian was silent for a moment, before he turned to Ciel, who despite not showing it had been listening to her story. "You won't swim, young master?"

Ciel responded with a stony silence,

Sebastian emitted a knowing smirk. "Ah, that's right. You-"

"Just being able to swim in this season isn't much of a selling point for a health resort," Ciel snapped.

"Do you truly intend to make this place a resort?"Sebastian was mildly surprised by this.

"Naturally," Ciel answered, looking back down at the pages of his book.

"What about the demon hound?"Said Sebastian.

"I'm sure you've caught onto its true form as well," Ciel remarked.

Sebastian nodded his head slightly and smiled.

"Come here a moment."Ciel ordered. Sebastian leaned over and Ciel whispered something into Sebastian's ear.

"Yes, my Lord. I shall do it right away." The butler obliged.

"You're awfully motivated, I thought you hated dogs?"Ciel observed, Sebastian's back facing him.

Sebastian looked over his shoulder at Ciel." "Yes, I do. So I'd like to wrap this up as quickly as possible, before everything goes to Hell."

**R~R~R~**

Thyme, Batty, Finny, Maylene, Tanaka, Bard and Angela set up the picnic lunch Sebastian had packed for them.

"Have some Angela, "Finny offered.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly, "Angela politely declined.

"Oh come on Angela, just try some, there's no harm in doing so."Thyme insisted.

"Are you sure it's all right for me to share?"Angela asked humbly.

"Of course! And Sebastian's packed lunches are delicious, yes!" Maylene declared smiling.

"He's been caught! The bad dog's been caught!"A group of villagers with pitchforks ran towards them. "It's James's dog! The punishment is about to begin!"

**A/N:*When I had heard about the game Sebastian tells Batty, I had heard that the number of seconds represents how far in miles the storm is away from you, however being as the story takes place in England I would assume Sebastian would say kilometers rather than miles. Although there is a slight difference in measurement of distance between the two, I don't think it's large enough to really change the idea of the game. **

**I wanted to include the scene where they find the villager(James) dead but I was unable to work it in, so I just had it mentioned. **

**Questions for next time: Where do you think Rosalind went off to and what do you think she's doing? What about Sebastian? Do you think Thyme really saw Rosalind's dead body in the basement, and if so, what's it doing there, especially when Rosalind is currently alive? **

**Please review, and have a happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it! !:D **


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